LB 

1570 



REPORT 



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Of the 



Committee on Elimination 
of Subject Matter 



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Printed by the 

Iowa State Teachers' Association 



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Book -^ 



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Elimination 
Of Obsolete and Useless Topics and Ma- 
terials From the Common 
Branches 




Being a Heport of a Committee of the 
Iowa J^tate Teachers' Association 
- November 1915 



I , » 



Published As an Educational Bulletin 
by the 

Iowa State Teachers' Association 



For additional copies apply to Secretary of Committee 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 

Des Moines, Iowa 



G. M. WILSON, Ames, Chairman 
W. L. HANSON. Burlington 
GEO. H. BETTS, Mt. Vernon 
JOHN R. SLACKS, Sac City 



W. F. CRAMER. Atlantic 

E. E. LEWIS, Iowa City 

C. W. STONE, Cedar Falls 

A. C. FULLER. Jr., Secretary, Des Moines 






^v 



CONTENTS. 

♦*. .• 

% 

PAGE 

1. Introductory Statement 3 

2. The Point of View 4 

3. Arithmetic 6 

4. Language and Grammar 13 

5. Writing 19 ^ 

6. Geography 28 

7. Physiology and Hygiene 38 

8. History 40 

9. Spelling < . . . 44 



n, df D. 
rtf-K 3 1919 



INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 



The Iowa State Teachers' Association in its Sixtieth Annual Ses- 
sion in Des Moines, November 5, 6 and 7, 1914, by resolution (No. 
6) provided as follows: 

"That this Association through its President should appoint a 
representative committee to study and to make a report upon the 
elimination of obsolete and useless topics and materials from the 
common school branches with a view that the efforts of childhood 
may be conserv^ed and the essentials be better taught." 

In accordance with this resolution, Prof. John E. Stout, Presi- 
dent of the Association, appointed the following committee : 

Geo. PI. Betts, Department of Psychology, Cornell College, Mount 
Vernon, Iowa. 

W. F. Cramer, City Superintendent of Schools, Atlantic, Iowa. 

W. L. Hanson, City Superintendent of Schools, Burlington, 
Iowa. 

E. E. Lewis, Department of Education, University of Iowa, Iowa 
City, Iowa. 

John R. Slacks, County Superintendent of Schools, Sac County, 
Sac City, Iowa. 

C. W. Stone, Director Training School, Iowa State Teachers' 
College, Cedar Falls, Iowa. 

G. M. Wilson, Department of Agricultural Education, Iowa State 
College, Ames, Iowa. 

The committee began work at once through correspondence. After 
getting policies more or less outlined by this method, the first meet- 
ing was held in the State House at Des Moines, Saturday, January 
9. At this meeting A. C. Fulfer; Jr., of the State Department of 
Public Instruction was asked to act as the permanent secretary of 
the committee. Other meetings were held on Saturday, March 13, 
and on Saturday, October 16. The work of the committee, how- 
ever, is not indicated by the number of meetings held, as there was 
constant correspondence and constant work looking toward final 
report. 

The committee is particularly pleased that the report is unani- 
mous not only in general spirit but in minor details. Every mem- 
ber of the committee realizes the great necessity of its work and the 
desirability of trying to perform the function for which it was 
created as fully as possible in the first report. 



4 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

There has been no attempt to cover the entire field of elementary 
instruction. The subjects chosen for report may be taken as repre- 
sentative. It is possible that there is as much need for reconstruc- 
tion of the work in reading, particularly in the intermediate and 
upper grades, as there is in any subject reported upon by the com- 
mittee. It was simply a question of doing within the time the work 
that seemed best adapted to accomplish the purpose for which the 
committee was created. The report should be regarded as tentative 
and the committee asks that the school people of the state accept the 
report in the spirit of true inquiry and make an effort within the 
next year or so to test out its recommendations. That is the only 
correct educational procedure. It is thought that the report will 
stand this test successfully. In the meantime, organization should 
be secured for working out the positive program. This in itself is 
a large problem and worthy of the consideration of a select commit- 
tee for the next two or three years. It was felt that this positive 
program was beyond the scope of the present committee. 

The committee has kept in mind as its criterion throughout, the 
present needs of the child and his ability to comprehend. It is on 
this basis that eliminations have been recommended. The commit- 
tee is agreed and recommends that all of the material indicated for 
omission in arithmetic, grammar, spelling, geography, physiology 
and history, be excluded from the examination questions used to 
test pupils for promotion from grade to grade, or for completion 
of the eighth grade work. The suggestion is made that this ma- 
terial be omitted also from the examination questions for teachers. 

For the committee, 

G. M. Wilson, Chairman. 



1. THE POINT OF VIEW. 

American education is today in the midst of a fundamental re- 
construction looking toward greater concreteness and immediate 
efficiency as the aim. The practical idealism characteristic of the 
present trend of thought in this country re-affirms its faith in edu- 
cation, but rejects such traditional terms as polish, culture, or dis- 
cipline as adequate fully to express the present educational pur- 
pose. 

Education is becoming consciously democratic. It is no longer 
for the favored few, nor to fit for certain highly specialized profes- 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 5 

sions, as in times past. Its benefits are for every person without re- 
gard to station, and its help must extend to every avenue of inter- 
est and activity. The business of education is to increase the effi- 
ciency of all our people at every point of contact in life. 

This means that, while education is yielding its culture and dis- 
cipline, it must also give the practical knowledge and develop the 
concrete efficiency required to found and maintain better homes; 
secure larger returns from labor; participate more intelligently in 
civic affairs ; live more healthful and efficient lives. In short, edu- 
cation is to open the door to stronger, better and more fruitful liv- 
ing at all levels of experience as men and women touch elbows in 
the day's work and its play. 

But education-time is short, and the field to be mastered large. 
No time should be wasted in studying useless material. Because 
of the realization of this fact protests are coming in from every 
side against the emptiness and waste of much that has heretofore 
passed as education. There is an insistent and growing demand 
chat the subject matter of our school curriculum shall be revised 
to bring it into accord with present concepts and aims of educa- 
tion. 

This point of view applied to elementary education suggests cer- 
tain fundamental reconstructions both in its purpose and its sub- 
ject matter. 

First of all, the elementary school must not be made to serve 
chiefly as a pteparatory school for the high school, as has been too 
much the case in the past. Education has been organized from 
the top down, each lower school being shaped to fit for the next 
higher. But of the children entering the elementary school, three- 
fifths never go beyond the eighth grade. The great problem of the 
elementary school is, therefore, to provide the best education pos- 
sible for those who never go any further. The curriculum of the 
grades must to this end be calculated to give boys and girls before 
the age of 14 years the fundamental equipment for meeting the 
problems and demands that await them. They must have placed 
in their possession (1) the concrete and fundamental knowledge 
most closely related to their future interests and work. They must 
have developed in them (2) the right attitude toward the common 
social and civic duties and relations, toward labor and achievement, 
and toward morality. They must also be given (3) some degree 
of skill in the use of their powers and right standards of achieve- 
ment. 



6 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

Second, the dogma of formal discipline must no longer be allowed 
to dominate the elementary curriculum. For some two hundred 
years dogma has dictated a large proportion of the subject matter 
of the elementary school as well as of the high school. Recent edu- 
cational science has shown that, even if the effects of formal dis- 
cipline cannot be wholly denied, yet a system of education resting 
on this foundation is relatively barren and wasteful. The powers 
and capacities of the individual can be trained even better upon 
fruitful than upon barren subject matter, while at the same time 
he is gaining the practical knowledge, developing the attitude and 
attaining the skill necessary to successful achievement. 

Not only is this point of view thoroughly grounded in educational 
science, but the general public, guided by common sense and in- 
tuition, has joined with educational science in demanding a change 
from the old disciplinary curriculum to a course of study more 
closely related to present day needs and conditions. This is to say 
that both from the professional and public point of view the rela- 
tively useless subject matter still to be found in so large proportion 
in the elementary schools of Iowa must be eliminated, giving the 
time and energy formerly consumed upon these barren subjects to 
fruitful and useful material. 

It is the problem and duty of this committee to recommend to 
the Iowa State Teachers' Association such eliminations and reduc- 
tions. 



ARITHMETIC. 



To Dr. Frank M. McMurr^'- belongs the credit of starting the 
present movement for the elimination of useless material from the 
arithmetic course. At the Department of Superintendence in 1904,. 
he made his now famous report. The work was carried forward 
as indicated in the discussion below, but the important fact to note 
here is that the recommended eliminations have been substantially 
agreed upon by progressive school men throughout the entire coun- 
try. They are therefore submitted by the committee with entire 
confidence. 



I. ELIMINATIONS RECOMMENDED. 

FUNDAMENTALS : 

Omit formal number work in the first year. Numbers will be 
learned in this grade but should be taught only incidentally. The 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 7 

fundamental operations, addition, subtraction, multiplication and 
division, should be well taught in the other grades. 

GREATEST COMMON DIVISOR: 

Omit this entirely. If factoring is well taught, there is no need 
for spending time on the greatest common divisor. 

FRACTIONS : 

Omit complex fractions. The following problem taken from a 
text book in general use is an illustration of the kind of problems 
considered unnecessary. 



9 

Simplify. 



8 3 „f _JL 

4 OI 1 



i of i 4i 

Fractions ivith large denominators should not be considered. 
Many school men doubtless recognize this "old timer." 

"Reduce to lowest terms - 

56981 

Complicated '^ puzzles" should be omitted. For example: "The 
head of a fish is 8 inches long. The tail is as long as the head and 
one-half the body, and the body is as long as the head and tail. 
What is the length of the fish?" 

Omit long process of division of fractions. Use the method of 
inverting and multiplying. 

Omit decimals beyond three places. 

TABLES OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : 

Omit Troy weight, apothecaries weight, surveyors measure, table 
for folding paper, and tables of foreign money. 

The tables mentioned are used by special trades and professions 
and never used in ordinary life. 

Reduction of compound numbers beyond tivo, occasionally three, 
places shoidd be omitted. 

PERCENTAGE : 

Complicated and imaginary problems involving percentage shoidd 
not be used. Those presenting a real situation in an inverted 
fashion do not prepare for solving the problem as it will actually 
occur. For example: "75% of $240 is 50% of what I paid for a 
horse. What did the horse cost?" 



8 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

"Work in stocks and bonds should be confined to local activities 
such as the organization of a farmers' elevator company, a cream- 
ery, electric light plant, etc. 

INTEREST : 

But one method of finding simple i^iterest should he taught. More 
methods simply confuse the learner. The new teacher should con- 
tinue the pupils method. 

Annual interest, compound interest, true discount and partial 
payments shoidd he omitted. 
PARTNERSHIP : 

Omit partnership ivith time. 

''Jones and Brown bought a farm for $24,000. Jones furnished 
$8,000 and Brown^ $16,000 of the capital. They sold the farm at 
a gain of $4,000. How much of the gain should each receive?" 
Transactions similar to the above are common and should be given 
some attention. 
EXCHANGE : 

Omit foreign exchange. The process of buying a draft is so sim- 
ple that special attention need not be given to domestic exchange. 
COMPOUND PROPORTION: 

Omit compound proportion. 
SQUARE AND CUBE ROOT : 

Omit cuhe root. If desired, it may be taken up later in the 
course in mathematics. 

Square root is sometimes of value to the ordinar^^ citizen and 
should be taught. 

METRIC SYSTEM: 

Omit the metric system. Until it comes into more general use, 
time spent on its study is lost. 
MISCELLANEOUS : 

Other topics, such as allegation, medial, duodecimals, progres- 
sion, equation of accounts, circulating decimals, etc., are being 
omitted from later text books or placed in the appendix. The use- 
lessness of such topics is so evident that a suggestion here is unnec- 
essary. 



II. CONSTRUCTIVE WORK. 

The announcement of a definite course of study in arithmetic 
with the above eliminations in mind, made prior to the adoption or 
rejection of this report, would perhaps seem hasty and outside the 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 9 

province of this committee. Elimination, however, is not the only- 
need. Unless some constructive work is suggested, much of the 
force of the work already done will be lost. The committee there- 
fore offers the suggestions given under the two following heads. 

(a) CHARACTER OF THE PROBLEMS SELECTED: 

Some reference has already been made to this point. More should 
be said. From a report by Albert Shields, Director of Bureau of 
Reference and Research of the New York City Board of Education, 
the following quotations are made : 

"The arithmetical problem should be as real as the teacher can 
make it. It should be real in its elements, real in the relation 
which these elements bear to one another, real in the vividness of 
that relation, and real in the demand made upon the pupil for so- 
lution. * * * * 

The material of a problem should not be extemporized out of a 
teacher's consciousness, but should be selected with reference to 
definite standards. This does not mean that every school or class 
should employ a different set of problems. Many of the public 
school children, whatever the character of the neighborhood, will 
have certain experiences and interests in common. There are few 
children, for example, who do not buy groceries. 

"Doubtless there are activities of the farm which are poor arith- 
metical stuff for the city boy, nevertheless it is a bold assumption 
which would forbid a child in his arithmetic to wander from the 
beaten track of home and school and the streets which lie between. 
What should regulate selection of material, are the child's own in- 
stincts and interests. Ceaseless repetition of eggs, apples or chick- 
ens, however familiar they may be, is poor material for an exclu- 
sive arithmetical diet. Equally bad for a primary child would be 
a series of calculations on the orbits of the planets. 

The teacher must be sure that the material as given is not pre- 
sented in a setting contrary to any usual experience. Races at im~ 
possible rates of speed, purchases made according to no existing 
conditions of business, are improper, even though they may require 
arithmetical effort in their interpretation or solution. The follow- 
ing is an example: "When chicken is twenty-eight cents a pound, 
what will one cost weighing fifteen and three-quarters pounds?" 

No one will deny the correctness of these statements. The aver- 
age boy will take more interest in a problem which he knows he may 
some day experience than he will in an imaginary condition of 



10 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

which he knows nothing. With that thought in mind it is recom- 
mended that the followoig topics be given more emphasis in the 
school course. 

(b) TOPICS TO BE EMPHASIZED. 

1. Heading and writing numbers — integers, common and deci- 
mal fractions. 

2. Fundamental operations, addition, subtraction, multiplica- 
tion and division with integers, common and decimal fractions. 
Factoring. 

3. Denominate numbers, addition, subtraction and one place 
reduction. Tables of length, surface, cubic measure, liquid meas- 
ure, dry measure, time, avoirdupois, IT. S. money. 

4. Mensuration. Perimeter, diameter, surface, contents of 
solids. Problems in finding area of plane surfaces such as walls, 
floors, sidewalks, etc. Contents of bins, corn cribs, wagon boxes, 
hay stacks, etc. 

5. Fractions with the following denominators should be given 
more drill. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 20. 

6. Emphasize Case T and Case II in percentage. Pupils should 
be drilled in changing the following fractions to per cent and vice 
versa: 1-2, 1-3, 2-3, 1-4, 3-4, 1-5, 1-6, 5-6, 1-8, 3-8, 5-8, 1-10, 1-12, 
1-16, 3-16. 

7. Business practices — borrowing, saving, loaning and invest- 
ing money. Banking methods. Taxes, school bonds, city bonds, 
life insurance, keeping accounts. Formation of stock companies 
such as farmer's elevator, implement company, lumber yard, cream- 
ery. Assessments for losses, damages, etc., in drainage districts. 



III. DISCUSSION. 

In his presentation of desirable eliminations from the course of 
study at the Department of Superintendents, in 1904, Dr. Frank M. 
McMurry practically outlined the eliminations in arithmetic which 
have been since tested and generally accepted-. The work of Dr. 
Rice in his articles in the Forum simply called attention to the 
necessity of improving the practice in the arithmetic work. Dr. 
C. W. Stone in his "Arithmetical Abilities" showed that the large 
amount of time being spent upon arithmetic in many school systems 
was not justified in increased ability to use the fundamentals and to 
reason. This pointed strongly toward the necessity of a thorough 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 



11 



revision of the arithmetic work. One of the early attempts to 
apply the social utility standard in a community in the making of 
a course of study by the superintendent of the Connersville (In- 
diana) schools a few years ago. To the surprise of the teachers, 
the business community voted almost unanimously for the omission 
of obsolete topics, the reason being that the leading business men 
of the community had found no use for these topics and they, 
therefore, readily agreed that they served no purpose and should 
be omitted from the arithmetic course. Mr. Wilson and his teachers 
also made a preliminary survey of courses of study throughout 
the United States which showed that in 1910 the topics suggested 
by Dr. McMurry were already being largely omitted from the 
courses of study in progressive city systems. Typical returns from 
this study are indicated in the foUow^ing table: 

GRADE-OCCURRENCE OF ARITHMETIC TOPICS. 

(From 47 courses.) 



Grades 



Subject 


I 


1 

II 


III 


IV 


V 


VI 


VII 


VIII 


Numeration 


37 
34 
10 
23 
24 
10- 
2 
10 
11 


37 
39 
11 
39 
39 
28 
16 
28 
20 


33 

33 

6 

33 
34 
30 
21 
22 
23 


18 
18 
5 
28 
26 
25 
34 
31 
34 


7 

7 

5 

13 

13 

15 

27 

34 

30 

1 

23 

12 

7 


4 
4 
4 
9 
9 

15 
25 
28 
31 
1 

12 

14 

5 

10 

10 

16 

8 

2 


4 

4 

4 

6 

6 

10 

19 

24 

29 

7 

8 

14 
7 

11 
9 

13 
6 
7 
3 


1 


Notation 


1 


Relation of numbers 


1 


Addition 


3 


Subtraction 


3 


Multiolication 


10 


Division 


17 


Fractions 


24 


Denominate numbers 

Involution and evolution 


22 
16 


Decimal fractions 








5 
11 
18 


1 


Mensuration 


6 
2 


8 
8 


10 
20 


12 


Multiplication tables 


6 


ClnmiTiissinn anrl brol^evaffe 


6 


Insurance 












6 


Pereentaffe 










7 
3 


8 


Ratio and nroDortion 








1 


9 


Partnershin 








4 


Partial navments 












5 


GOD and L C M 










4 


6 
4 
7 
2 
1 




TjODe'itudp and time 










7 

17 
14 
13 

9 

4 
23 

6 
15 

3 


1 


Profit and loss 












2 


Taxes 




1 




8 


Duties 












1 


Bankins: 












6 


Exchanefe 














4 


Simple interest 








1 


2 


12 


4 


Stocks and bonds 








8 


Business forms 










1 

6 


4 
5 


6 


Simple accounts 








3 


3 













12 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

The plan of examining courses of study was carried further by 
Drs. Coffman and Jessup and their findings were embodied in 
report to the National Society for the Study of Education at the 
Richmond meeting of the Department of Superintendence. A copy 
of this report may be secured on application to Extension Division, 
State University, Iowa City, Iowa. This report covered the larger 
cities of the entire United States and included, also, returns from 
many county superintendents. "While it is based entirely upon 
opinion, it showed a large tendency to accept the elimination of 
uselehs material from the arithmetic course and a tendency to 
place more time upon the usable, social and economic phases of 
the arithmetic work. Superintendent Slacks, as a men ler of your 
committee, made a similar study among county and city super- 
intendents of the state of Iowa last fall. He found very general 
agreement among them with reference to the elimination program. 

The above discussion shows a very remarkable development in 
the field of education during the last decade. The movement, of 
course, has extended to all lines of elementary work and has even 
affected the high school and the college. It has been supplemented 
and aided by other studies, particularly those relating to the elimi- 
nation of pupils from the schools and the reasons why pupils leave 
school. The teacher in the one-room country school will certainly 
welcome the elimination program and pupils and teachers alike 
will agree that the topics suggested for elimination should be 
omitted from all examination tests. The text book difficulty must 
be overcome by the individual teacher. A recent careful examina- 
tion of two popular texts by students at the Iowa State College 
showed that in one of them 16 2-3 per cent of the printed matter 
was devoted to material recommended by this committee for elimi- 
nation. In the other 20 per cent of the printed matter related to 
such material. The committee does not suggest, because of tliis 
fact, a general attempt to remedy the matter by changing text 
books. This should be gradual, but the individual teacher should 
pencil out and omit from her work any of the topics suggested 
for elimination by this report. 



IV. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

The following list of references is not assumed to be complete. 

It contains some contributions referring to the question of elim- 
ination in general while others apply especially to some phase of 
the subject of arithmetic : 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 13 

1. "What Omissions are Desirable in the Present Course of 
Study" — Frank M. McMurry, National Department of Superin- 
tendents, 1904. 

2. "A Test in Arithmetic"— J. M. Rice, Forum Vol. 34, p. 28. 

3. "Causes of Success and Failure in Arithmetic" — J. M. Rice, 
Forum Vol. 34, pp. 437-452. 

4. "Arithmetic Abilities and Some Factors in Determining 
Them"— Cliff W. Stone, State Teachers' College, Cedar Falls, Iowa. 
N. Y. Teachers College Contributions No. 19, 1908. 

5. "A Course of Study in Elementary Mathematics," for the 
Connersville Schools — G. M. Wilson, Iowa State College, Ames, 
Iowa. 

6. "Mathematics in the Elementary Schools of the U. S." — U. 
S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 38, 1911. 

7. "The Teaching of Arithmetic" — David Eugene Smith — Ginn 
& Co., Chicago. 

8. "Economy of Time in Education" — U. S. Bureau of Educa- 
tion, Bulletin No. 38, 1913. 

9. "Measurements of Growth and Efficiency in Arithmetic" — 
S. A. Courtis. 

10. "Economy of Time in Arithmetic" — ^W. A. Jessup, State 
University of Iowa, Iowa City. 

11. "Time Distribution in Grade School Subjects" — A. C. Ful- 
ler, Jr., Des Moines; Midland Schools, December, 1914. 

12. "Report of the Committee on Elementary Course of Study" 
— Minnesota Educational Association. 

13. "How to Teach Arithmetic" — Brown & Coffman ; Row, 
Peterson & Co., Chicago. 

14. "The Arithmetic Course of Study" — Journal of Educa- 
tion, Nov. 30. 1911 : Dec. 21, 1911 ; Dec. 28, 1911. 

15. "City School Arithmetic" — Journal of Education, January 
14, 1915. 



LANGUAGE AND GRAMMAR. 

The committee recommends that grammar as such should not be 
studied below the seventh grade and preferably not below the 
eighth grade. The time devoted to language work below the eighth 
grade should not be decreased, but the character of the work should 
be changed. 

There should be a positive language program for the lower grades 
including the correction of errors of common speech ; the mechanics 



14 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

of written composition; additional work in literature from the 
standpoint of appreciation and expression; work on enlarging the 
vocabulary including spelling and use of the dictionary ; with stress 
upon oral expression or better oral composition. 

The correction of grammatical errors should be continued thru 
all the grades and in all subjects. Language games in primary 
grades are especially helpful. Models of good expression and sen- 
tence construction in both oral and written work should be kept 
constantly before pupils of all grades. The more obvious errors of 
speech and colloquial expressions should be corrected taking up 
the simpler ones and those most frequently used first and adding 
others from month to month during the eight years. The number 
of errors made by children is relatively small as shown by Dean 
Charters in his study of the grammatical errors of the Kansas City 
Schools : 

1. Subject of verb not in nominative case, as "Us girls went." 

2. Predicate nominative not in nominative case, "They were 
John and him." 

3. Object of verb or preposition not in the objective case, as 
"She gave it to Martha and I." 

4. Wrong form of noun and pronoun, as ' ' Sheeps^ — theirself — 
The problem what is." 

5. First personal pronoun standing first in a series, as "Me 
and him. " "I and James went. ' ' 

6. Failure of the pronoun to agree with its noun in number, 
person and gender, as "Nobody can do what they like." 

7. Confusion of demonstrative adjective and personal pro- 
noun, as "Them things." 

8. Failure of verb to agree with its subject in number and per- 
son, as "There is six," "You was," or "You wuz." 

9. Confusion of past and present tenses, as "She give us 
four." "He ask me." 

10. Confusion of past tense and past participle, as "I seen." "I 
have saw." 

11. Wrong tense form, as "Attracted. " " Had ought. ' ' 

12. Wrong verb, as "Lay" for "lie"; "Ain't got"; confusion 
of can and matj ; of shall and will. 

13. Incorrect use of mode, as "If I was in your place." 

14. Incorrect comparison of adjectives, as "Joyfulest, beauti- 
fuler, more better, worser." 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 15 

15. Confusion of comparatives and superlatives, as ' ' She is the 
tallest" (of two). 

16. Confusion of adjectives and adverbs, as "He looked up 
quick." "That there book." 

17. Misplaced modifier, as "He only went two miles." 

18. Double negative, as "He isn't hardly old enuf." 

19. Confusion of prepositions and conjunctions, as "He talks 
like he is sick." 

20. Syntactical redundance, as "Mother she said so." "Where 
is it at?" 

21. Wrong part of speech due to similarity of sound, as "I 
would of known;" they for there; to, too, two; there and their. 

To these may be added mispronunciations, as "kin" for can, 
"git" for get, "yit" for yet, "jist" or "jest" for just, and col- 
loquialisms, as "done got," "we-all" and "you-all." Don't over- 
work "and". 

It was found that in written work by pupils of the seventh and 
eighth grades, identically the same kinds of errors were made and 
the following additional ones : 

22. Failure to put a period at the end of a statement. 

23. Failure to put a question-mark at the end of a question. 

24. Failure to put an apostrophe to denote possession. 

25. Omission of subject. 

26. Omission of predicate. 

27. Confusion of dependent and independent clauses. 

The greatest problem in oral and written composition in the 
grades is the correction of the common errors noted above. In 
language work, there will be considerably incidental teaching of the 
terms of grammar. For examples: The kind's of sentences as to 
meanings; the three kinds of sentences as to form; the larger 
elements of the sentence — as subject, predicate, modifiers; the parts 
of speech; comparisons of adjectives and adverbs; agreement of 
the verb with its subject; the possessive form of nouns; case and 
person forms of pronouns; present, past and perfect forms of ir- 
regular verbs. Emphasize this — that the time to teach the term, 
or principle or correction of error, is when it is used or made. 

Your committee concurs with Dean Charters in recommending 
the omission of the following items : 

1. The exclamatory sentence. 

2. The interjection. 

3. The appositive. 



16 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

4. The nominative of address. 

5. The nominative of exclamation. ^ 

6. The objective complement. 

7. The adverbial objective. " ' 

8. The indefinite pronouns. ♦, . ^ ' ., •• *•' 

9. The objective used as a substantive, , . ^•'^ ' * 

10. The classification of adverbs. ' 

11. The noun clause. 

12. The conjunctive adverbs. 

13. The retained objective. 

14. The modes (except possibly the subjunctive of "to be"). 

15. The infinitive. 

16. The objective subject. 

17. The participle except the definition and the present and 
past forms. 

18. The nominative absolute. 

19. The gerund nominative absolute. 
Your committee add: 

20. Sentences for analysis and parsing that involve subtle 
points of grammar. 

21. Formal parsing. 

22. Conjugation. 

23. Diagramming. 

24. Person of nouns. 

These omissions are suggested that it may be possible to place 
the stress where it properly belongs in language training — viz., 
upon correct oral and written speech, opportunity to read much 
of the good literature suitable for various grades and make it 
possible to have more of the expression of the pupils' own thoughts. 
As noted before, formal grammar should be eliminated as a study 
save in the eighth grade. 

While the work of Dean Charters in arriving at the language 
errors of children and the needed eliminations of grammatical 
terms is the only one particularly used in this discussion, other 
valuable contributions have been made and attention is called par- 
ticularly to the first and last references under the bibliography. 
These contain a method of procedure in detecting the errors of a 
grade or of an individual pupil. The Boise study is more extended 
and is particularly suggestive and helpful. 

Your committee feels that the positive side of language training 
needs more emphasis than the assigned task of "elimination" that 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 17 

has been placed upon it permits. The following recommendations 
abstracted from the Report of the Minnesota Committee, Bulletin 
No 51, are offered as a brief positive suggestion : 

"In grades I and II, we note a definite tendency to imitate and 
reproduce the actions and words of those about them. Thru his 
reading the child easily learns the use of the capital letter at the 
beginning of the sentence and the period at the close. The mini- 
mum of mechanics by the end of the second grade should be : 

"Capitals: (1) At the beginning of sentences. (2) The pronoun 
I. (3) In writing the child's own name and address. (4) In days 
of which he may have learned. (5) in months learned. (6) In 
holidays learned. (7) In beginning each line of poetry. 

"Final Marks: Period — (1) At the end of sentences. (2) After 
abbreviations. (3) Question mark after questions. (4) The com- 
ma in writing the child's address. 

"Abbreviations: Days of the week, months of the year and Mr., 
Mrs., Dr." 

For the III and IV grades in addition to the mechanics of I and 
II grades, teach: "Capitals: (1) In all proper names. (2) As 
needed in writing simple letters and notes, and addressing an 
envelope. (3) As needed in the undivided quotation. (4) Titles 
of stories, poems, books, etc. 

"Final marks: Exclamation point. 

"Comma: (1) In a series. (2) In a simple quotation. (3) As 
needed in letter forms. 

"Abbreviations and contraotions: As noodod in dnily work — • 
don't, doesn't, I'm, I'll. 

"The apostrophe in possessives. 

' ' Other forms needed to make thots clear : ( 1 ) Quotation marks. 
(2) Paragraph form, including indentation and regular margin." 

In grades V and VI, vocabulary rapidly develops, if the needed 
good literature is heard and read. 

"Better connectives will be chosen to replace the much used 
'and' and 'but,' subordinate clauses will be much used and this 
is the time to teach the shades of difference between connectives as 
well as the deeper meaning and function of the paragraph. 

' ' The additional mechanics now demanded may be : Punctua- 
tion marks necessary in: (1) Divided and undivided quotations. 
(2) Using the noun of direct address. (3) All forms of letter 
writing, business as well as social. 



18 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

"Mastery of spelling and use of: (1) All kinds of possessives. (2) 
Simple plurals of several classes of nouns such as those ending in 
'v' 'f 'fe ' 'o' etc. (3) Past tense of common irregular verbs. 

''Greater accuracy and facility: (1) In letter writing. (2) 
Sentence structure. (3) Paragraphing." 

Grades VII and VIII. ' ' The mechanics will be motivated by the 
subject matter or the purpose of the composition, whether for ex- 
ample, the work is to appear in a school paper, or a real news- 
paper, to be given at a school assembly, or at the annual school 
exhibit. 

"The positive program for formal grammar in the eighth grade 
should be greatly simplified." 

''The degree of accuracy to be demanded in each grade will be 
a variable quantity, since it will depend upon : 

"1. The teachers' standards during the training process. 
•2. Individual difference in pupils. 

•3. Time given for any particular test which might be made, 
and probably, upon other factors. 

"By the end of the eighth year children should be able to: 

"1. Say something worth while (whether original or gleaned 
from others). 

"2. Write with fair facility, using good vocabulary and correct 
English. 

'3. Punctuate and paragraph so as to make the meaning clear. 
'4. Spell correctly at least 95 per cent of all words used. 
•5. "Write at least legibly and neatly." 

This modified program emphasizes the incidental teaching of 
language forms in connection with oral and written composition. 
It gives time for work along the line of appreciation in literature 
and expression and for drills which will fix the mechanics of com- 
position. The changes suggested are in the method of approach 
and in the elimination of the non-essentials. The amount of time 
to be devoted to the subject should not be rediiced. No text book 
in grammar should be placed in the hands of pupils before the 
eighth grade and then largely as a reference. The teacher should 
organize the eighth grade work, limiting the details to the ability 
of the pupils to understand and appreciate. Attention to correct 
expression in written and oral work should not be confined to the 
language lesson, but should receive equal attention in all subjects 
and all grades. The amount of written w^ork should be reduced 
so that what is done may be held to the right standards. 



1 1 < 



li I 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 19 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

"Errors in Language of Grade Pnpils," Educator Journal, Dec, 
1909, page 178. 

"Report of a Committee on Technical Grammar," Teachers' Col- 
lege Record, January, 1911, page 5. 

"Studies in the Teaching of English Grammar," Teachers' Col- 
lege Record, November, 1906. 

"Report of Committee on Elementary Course of Study of the 
Minnesota Educational Association," March, 1914. 

"Course of Study in Grammar Based Upon the Grammatical 
Errors of School Children," Kansas City, Mo., Charters and Miller, 
University of Missouri Bulletin, Vol. 16, No. 2. 

"Essentials of Composition and Grammar," James F. Hosic, 
Fourteenth Year Book, National Society, Part I, page 90. 

"Advisable Admission in the Present Course of Study," F. M. 
McMurry, National Department of Superintendents, 1904. 

"Formal English Grammar as a Discipline," Thomas H. Briggs, 
Teachers College Record, September, 1913. 

"Boise Public Schools, Special Report," June, 1915, pp 29-45. 



WRITING. 



"While the committee has not been able to make a detailed investi- 
gation in writing, it is convinced that considerable effort is ex- 
pended in raising the quality of the writing of children to a stand- 
ard higher than necessary for the demands of society and higher 
than the standard maintained by people in the community who 
constantly use writing in their business. Only a reasonable stand- 
ard should, be required of pupils and when this standard has been 
attained they should be excused from further drill with the under- 
standing that they begin drill again as soon as their writing drops 
below the standard set. The detailed interpretation of the mean- 
ing of a reasonable standard is more difficult and should certainly 
be more moderate when the schools of the entire state, country 
and village schools as well as the city schools, are considered. All 
studies thus far made have related to city school standards. The 
committee ventures to use, herewith, the writing requirements of a 



20 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 



particular city school system (South Bend) as being as nearly 
reasonable as anything which has appeared. They set "Quality 
60" of the Ayres scale (or "Quality 12" of the Thorndike scale) 
as the standard for the upper grades. They indicate, also, the 
speed requirements per minute and indicate the number of pupils 
who are expected to reach the standard. In detail, the standard 
is as follows : 



WRITING REQUIREMENTS. 



Grade 



Ayres Quality 



Speed, Letters 
per Minute 



3B 

3A 
4B 
4A 
5B 
5A 
6B 
6A 
7B 
7A 
8B 
8A 



40 
40 
40 
40 
50 
50 
50 
50 
60 
60 
60 
60' 



45 
45 
50 
50 
55 
55 
60 
60 
65 
65 
70 
70 



Per Cent of Pu- 
pils Required to 
Make These 



75 per 
80 per 
75 per 
80 per 
75 per 
80 per 
75 per 
80 per 
75 per 
80 per 
75 per 
80 per 



cent 
cent 
cent 
cent 
cent 
cent 
cent 
cent 
cent 
cent 
cent 
cent 



No attempt has been made to set standards for the high school 
work. It is generally conceded that the writing as a whole deterio- 
rates in the high school. No doubt enough attention should be 
given to the work to maintain the 8th grade standard for all pupils, 
while for the commercial classes a higher speed and quality should 
be attained. In the high school, as well as in the grades, it is 
suggested that the writing will be improved by requiring less writ- 
ten work and by arranging that all work handed in shall be in 
pen and ink and shall be given reasonable time for preparation. 
The standards as suggested above are to be maintained in all writ- 
ten work, not alone in the writing exercises. 



DISCUSSION. 



The movement for the definite measurement of handwriting was 
started by the publication of the Thorndike scale of handwriting in 
the Teachers College Record. The stimulus given by Dr. Thorn- 
dike was chiefly in the measuring of quality, although he gave a 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 



21 



little attention to speed in the discussion of his scale, indicating 
that speed is an essential factor and is in itself a good indication. 
In this discussion of speed, Dr. Thorndike made use of the material 
furnished him by Dr. C. W. Stone. Dr. Thorndike made notable 
contribution, also, in emphasizing the fact that a reasonable stand- 
ard should be required and that differences in quality in different 
city systems was apparently not due to differences in time ex- 
penditure. The publication of the Thorndike scale made measure- 
ment on a different basis possible and led immediately to attempts 
to fix standards for the various grades. This is certainly desirable 
from the standpoint of the teacher in the school room. It enables 
her to know when she is doing satisfactory work and gives her a 
definite goal which she is expected to reach in her particular grade. 

Prof. G. M. Wilson, when superintendent of the Connersville, 
Indiana, schools, made one of the first systematic efforts toward 
establishing a standard for speed as well as quality in the various 
grades of the school system. The first step in the procedure con- 
sisted in measuring and in systematizing the speed, giving range 
as well as median, from each grade from the first through the high 
school. The teachers of the school were also involved in this study. 

The first measurement showed the following practice in the school 
system : 





Speed (Letters per Minute) 


Quality (Thorn- 


Grade 


Median 


Range 


dike Scale A) 


IB - - _ 


22 
9 
17 
14 
20 
36 
48 
60 
51 
52 
71 
60 
58 
55 
86 
74 
81 
91 
100 
108 
98 


8— 26 
5— 19 
7—45 
7— 30 

10 54 

9- 66 
14— 86 
29 131 

30— 84 
28 84 
43 100 
43— 87 
22— 91 

31— 95 
54—108 
26- 96 
48—119 
69 120 
91-211 
78—150 
76—126 


9.2 


lA _ - — - 


9.5 


2B _ _ 


10.1 


2A — _ - 


10.4 


3B . _ _ _ 


9.9 


3A - 


10.3 


4B 


10.2 


4A 


10.0 


5B 


10.2 


5A - ______ 


10.3 


6B _ 


11.4 


6A 


11.7 


7B _ _ _ 


11.4 


7A 


11.7 


8B ___ 


11.2 


8A _ _ _ 


11.0 


9th vear 


11.7 


10th year 


11.8 


11th year 


11.5 


12th vear 


11.8 


Teachers _ _ _ 


12.9 







22 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 



The plan of measuring speed was to have pupils write familiar 
copy for two minutes, taking one-half of the number of letters as 
the speed per minute. This plan has since been followed by in- 
vestigators. This study revealed for the first time what has since 
been more fully established that there was practically no increase 
in speed from the fourth to the eighth grade, and that quality, 
taking grades as wholes, was practically on a level from the third' 
grade up. 

Following the study showing actual conditions, a tentative stand- 
ard was arranged and placed in the hands of each teacher through- 
out the system, with directions to work toward the standard and 
see what per cent of their pupils they could bring to the required 
standard. About the same time. Dr. Freeman, of the University 
of Chicago, began the construction of a standard by the use of the 
Thomdike scale. A discussion of these standards are brought to- 
gether by Dr. Bobbitt, on pages 40 and 41 of the Twelfth Year 
Book, of the National Society for the Study of Education. The 
standards there indicated must be regarded as tentative and as the 
first attempt to fix grade standards in writing. A more exhaustive 
study is contained in the Fourteenth Year Book of the National 
Society, pages 61-77. This investigation was made bv Dr. Frank 
N. Freeman, of the University of Chicago, in an attempt to deter- 
mine the minimum requirements for handwriting in the grades. 
The study involved the grading of about 34,000 papers in 56 cities 
throughout the United States. Not only were the averages secured, 
but the average for the upper half and the lower half were like- 
wise indicated. This was arranged in such a way that speed and 
quality are both represented. That is, the best writing was not 
taken in one group and the fastest in another, but the two were 
brought together. The standard suggested by the summary, in- 
dicated herewith in Table II, is as follows: 

Average Speed and Quality and Average of Upper and Lower 
Halves in All the Schools Investigated. 



School Grade 



(Average of upper half— 
Average of all 
Average of lower half __ 
("Average of upper half— 

Quality _ J Average of all 

(Average of lower half— 



2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


35.4 


47.7 


56.2 


64.9 


69.2 


73.4 


30.6 


43.8 


51.2 


59.1 


62.8 


67.9 


24.4 


37.4 


43.4 


49.9 


52.8 


58.5 


43.5 


46.1 


49.3; 54.5 


58.5 


64.7 


39.7 


42.0 


45.8 


50.5 


54.5 


58.9 


36.8 


38.8 


43.2 


47.4 


51.5 


54.2 



8 



77.8 
73.0 
61.2 
67.8 
62.8 
57.6 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION. 



23 



It will be observed that the averages in quality and speed are 
on the whole a little higher than the suggested standard taken from 
the South Bend schools. City systems with plenty of teacher time 
and supervision in writing may want to adopt the standard in- 
dicated by the above averages of all, or even of the upper half. If 
this standard is adopted, it will still excuse many pupils from the 
writing practice period and the standard will be attainable for 
the majority of the pupils with a reasonable time expenditure. 
That the average of the upper half is attainable is shown by the 
investigation, because 25 per cent of the cities in the study have 
attained that standard. 

In attempting to determine the conditions which might produce 
a superiority in writing results. Dr. Freeman gave considerable 
attention to the time element. He concludes that the amount of 
time spent appears to have little influence upon the results. Twen- 
ty-three cities of the upper half spent 73.4 minutes per week; 
twenty-three cities of the lower half, 73.3 minutes per week. 

In interpreting the above, it is not necessary to assume that the 
amount of time spent has no effect upon the efficiency of hand- 
writing. It does appear to mean, however, that it is not desirable 
to spend more than ten or fifteen minutes a day when this time 
is spent all in one period. The suggestion is further ventured 
that if the teacher will set standards for her pupils and will place 
before them the Ayres scale of handwriting, so that pupils can at 
any time compare their handwriting with the scale, that the mere 
presence of the standard will give pupils the necessary incentive 
to bring their writing to the 100 per cent mark for their particular 
grade. Mr. Wilson, in his work in the Connersville schools, found 
that pupils did use the scale constantly, appreciated the opportun- 
ity of comparison, and took upon themselves the task of reaching 
the standard for the grade in order to receive the 100 per cent mark. 

In view of the time which Dr. Freeman has spent upon this 
subject, it seems worth while to here print his proposed standard 
for quality and speed. The committee is inclined to look upon this 
standard as a little high for all schools of the state and regards 
the standard in actual use in the South Bend schools as more 
acceptable. Dr. Freeman's proposed standard appears below: 



ir 



III 



School Grade 



IV 



VI VII vin 



Quality 
Speed _. 



44 
36 



47 
48 



50 
56 



55 
65 



59 
72 



64 

80 



70 
90 



24 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

A study of the attainment in handwriting of pupils in various 
grades of the public schools of the state of Iowa was made recently 
by Mr. Rollo E. Neweomb, in conjunction with the Extension 
Division of the State University. 

Mr. Newcomb secured specimens of the handwriting of ap- 
proximately 28,000 Iowa school children, distributed as follows : 
1,999 in 150 rural schools of 14 different counties; 4,812 in 41 
towns of from 500 to 9,99 population; 4,620 in 25 cities of from 
1,000 to 1,999 population ; 4,754 in 17 cities of from 2,000 to 2,999 
population; 5,395 in 15 cities of from 3,000 to 9,999 population; 
6,285 in 13 cities of from 10,000 population up. 

The specimens of handwriting for the study were secured through 
the hearty cooperation of county and city superintendents in all 
parts of the state. The children were asked to write the sentence, 
"Mary had a little lamb," over and over again at natural speed 
and as well as they could for two minutes. The papers were then 
graded for quality by the Ayres' scale and for speed by counting 
the number of letters written per minute. 

As a result of the study Mr. Newcomb was able to give standards 
for hpeed and quality of handwriting in Iowa. His conclusions, 
together with a statement of the standards for speed and for quality, 
were as follows: 

1. The State Norm or Standard speed and quality for each 
grade of the public schools of Iowa as determined by this study is 

as follows : 

Gain Gain 

in in 

Quality. Speed. Quality. Speed. 

Grade One 28.5 29. 

Grade Two 35.6 39.2 7.1 10.2 

Grade Three 39.8 49.5 4.2 10.3 

Grade Four 44.5 61.8 4.7 12.3 

Grade Five 49. 65.2 4.5 3.4 

Grade Six 52.3 75.2 3.3 10. 

Grade Seven 57.1 75. 4.8 2. 

Grade Eight 61. 76.5 3.9 1.5 

2. The rate of progress from grade to grade is faii'ly uniform 
as will be seen in column three above. The average is 4 points 
on the Ayres' scale. 

3. All grades show progress in speed over the attainment of the 
preceding grade except Grade Seven, which shows a slight loss. 
Grade Eight gains only 1.3 letters over Grade Six. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION. 25 

4. Gain in speed is largest in Grades Two, Three, Four and 
Sis, as will be seen in column four above. 

5. As compared with Freeman's average results from 30,000 
papers selected at random from a similar test, given in .cities of 
over 30,000 population in the United States, the medians for each 
of these grades show a deficiency in quality and an excess in speed. 
The former is more markel in Grades Two, Three and Six. The 
latter is more marked in Six. Four and Two. 

6. As will be seen from the following tables when these State 
Medians are compared with Freeman's ideal standard the con- 
clusion last mentioned is still true except that Grades Seven and 
Eight fall below in speed. 

7. In view of this it is evident that more emphasis should be 
placed upon quality especially in the primary grades, and more 
upon speed in the Grammar grades. 

One other conclusion is worthy of careful consideration. If 
we compare the median scores made by country school children 
with the scores made by children in cities of 10,000 and over, we 
find that the difference in speed and quality between children in 
the city and .children in the country is surprisingly slight. Chil- 
dren in the country write on the average for all grades between 
two and three letters more per minute than do children in cities. 
On the other hand, the quality of the handwriting of city children 
is about two and one-half points better. Such a slight difference 
suggests that our rural schools are in general teaching handwriting 
as well as our city schools. 

For the benefit of those who desire to know the variations in at- 
tainment the following two tables taken from Mr. Newcomb's 
material are added: 

QUALITY— Scored on Ayres Scale. 

Grades. I II III IV Y VI VII VIII 
Attained by 

75% of pupils 20'. 28.9 31.5 35.1 41.1 44.2 50.1 51.9 
Attained by 

50% of pupils 28.5 35.6 39.8 44.5 49. 52.3 57.1 61. 
Attained by 

25% of pupils 36.1 44.4 48. 51.7 55.5 61. 66.3 70.3 

This table is to be read as follows : 75% of the pupils of the first 
grade ^\Tite as well or better than a quality slightly below score 20 

on the scale. 50% write as well or better than a quality 28.5 or 



26 • REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

slightly below score 30 on the scale. The best 25% write as well 
or better than a quality 36.1 which means slightly better than half 
way between qualities scored 30 and 40 on the scale. Another 
way of stating it would be: The poorest 25% of the first grade 
pupils write poorer than score 20 on the scale; a little less than 
50% of the first grade pupils write as well or better than score 30 
on the scale; and much less than 25% of the first grade pupils 
write as well or better than score 40 on the scale. The figures for 
the other grades, two-eight, are read in the same way. 

SPEED— In Letters Per Minute. 

Grades. I II III IV V VI VII VIII 

Attained by 

75% of pupils 19.7 28.9 39.2 49.1 53.3 49.9 63.7 65.3 
Attained by 

50% of pupils 29. 39.2 49.5 61.8 65.2 75.2 75. 76.5 
Attained by 

25% of pupils 40.8 49.9 62.6 73.5 80.4 85.6 87.4 89.2 



THE SOCIAL DEMAND UPON WRITING. 

Apparently no one has successfully measured the social de- 
mands upon writing. Dr. Thorndike pointed out that 1,000. Teach- 
ers College students wrote at a standard about two points below 
good eighth grade writing. Mr. Wilson's study showed that his 
teachers wrote at "Quality 12.9" and he has made other measure- 
ments of the writing of mature people as follows: 

100 Graduate Students, Teachers College, Median 10.5, Range 
8-14 (of the Thorndike scale), 

100 Teachers in Institute, Perry County, Ind., Median 10.9, 
Range 9-14. 

100 Teachers in Institute' Green County, Ind., Median 10.8, 
Range 9-13. 

100 Teachers in Institute, Ripley County, Ind., Median 10.7, 
Range 9-14. 

100 Inquiries for Help, Social Service Bureau, New York City, 
Median 10.2, Range 8-14. 

100 applications for positions ranging from $10 a week to $5,000 
a year. Social Service Bureau, New York City, Median 11.4, Range 
9-15. 

Signatures to 100 bank checks, Median 9, Range 6-13. 

250 signatures on a hotel register ; Mode 7, Median 9, Range 7-15. 



REPORT or" COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 27 

It appears from the above that when pupils get out of school 
they write at a standard that is only a little above legible. That 
is, they write at the standard which serves the purpose of record 
or communication and they do not waste time or energy in at- 
tempting to do more than serves that purpose. The exception to 
this is in commercial lines such as clerks in the office of life in- 
surance companies who are required to write policies or other high- 
ly specialized writing work. The conclusion seems to be that while 
the schools may secure an artificial standard, it is not held after 
the pupils leave school. They drop to the standard of social utility. 

Some attempts have been made to arrive at a society standard 
by other methods than the above. For instance, asking business 
men which standard they prefer among their employes. This is 
manifestly the wrong way to go about it. They prefer a good 
standard, of course, and will select the best. However, an exami- 
nation of the writing of their employes will show that they are 
using a much lower standard. Dr. Freeman apparently conducted 
an investigation along the same lines that was so guarded as to 
secure reasonable results. His table shows that the quality which 
is most frequently regarded as essential for candidates for posi- 
tions in business houses is that of "60" on the Ayres scale (cor- 
responding to "Quality 12" on the Thorndike scale). In further 
discussion of this standard, he concludes that 60 per cent of the 
total population would apparently be benefitted by reaching the 
standard set for the eighth grade. 

In the light of the above discussion, the committee's recommen- 
dations seem justified. The standard should be reasonable, the 
time cost should not exceed ten or fifteen minutes per day and the 
pupil should have an opportunity of making his own comparison 
with the scale. The Ayres Scale may be secured from the Russell 
Sage Foundation, 120 East Twenty-second Street, New York City, 
Cost 5 cents. Teachers will find no difficulty in making use of the 
writing scale. The thing to do is to secure a copy of one of the 
standard scales and proceed to use it. The pupils will soon use it 
with a great degree of accuracy and with much enjoyment. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Thorndike, "Scale of Handwriting," Teachers College Record, 
March, 1910. 

Ayres, "A Scale of Handwriting," Educational Bulletin of the 



Russell Sage Foundation. 



28 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

Wilson, G. M., "The Handwriting of School Children," The 
Elementary School Teacher, 1911, page 540. 

Bobbitt, "Scientific Management Applied to City Schools," 
Twelfth Year Book, National Society for the Study of Education, 
pages 40-43. 

Freeman, "Handwriting," Fourteenth Year Book, National So- 
ciety for the Study of Education, pages 61-77. 



ELIMINATION OF USELESS AND OBSOLETE MATERIALS 
FROM ELEMENTARY GEOGRAPHY. 

For the convenience of the reader recommendations concerning 
the elimination of useless and obsolete materials from elementary 
geography are briefly summarized at the beginning of this report. 
For a fuller explanation of the reasons for each recommendation 
the reader's attention is directed to the discussion which constitutes 
the major portion of the report. 



SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS. 

First: Your committee respectfully recommends that the formal 
study of geography in Iowa schools be limited to the fourth, fifth, 
sixth and seventh grades. By formal study is here meant daily 
recitation periods with a textbook in the hands of the pupils. This 
is not meant to exclude informal or incidental consideration of 
geographical facts in other grades in connection with reading, 
language, history and industrial work. 

Second: Your committee recommends that, so far as possible, 
the maximum daily time devoted to recitations in geography be 
limited to twenty minutes in the fourth grade, twenty to twenty- 
five minutes in the fifth and sixth grades, and twenty-five to thirty 
minutes in the seventh grade ; that the minimum daily time be not 
less than ten minutes in the fourth grade, fifteen minutes in the 
fifth and sixth grades, and twenty minutes in the seventh grade. 
In schools where geography is not taught every day in the week 
the committee recommends the following maximum and minimum 
weekly time for each grade : 

4th grade 5th grade 6th grade 7th grade 
Maximum weekly time 80 min. 80-100 min. 80-100 min. 125-150 min. 
Minimum weelily time 40 min. 75 min. 75 min. 100 min. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 29 

Third : It is recommended that home or local geography be 
taught in the first part of the fourth grade as a necessary basis 
for the study of distant regions. It should iuclude a first-hand 
knowledge of the surface features of the home region; of the 
natural products of the region ; of the source of raw materials for 
the local manufactories ; of the advantages and disadvantages of 
the locality as influenced by physiography; of the reasons for the 
exchange of commodities through stores ; of railroad, telegraph and 
telephone lines; and other facts in order to secure the fullest pos- 
sible basis of interest and real experience for the interpretation of 
distant conditions. 

Fourth : The committee unanimously endorses the statement 
made by McMurry in an article on "Principles Underlying the 
Making of School Curricula," Teachers' College Record, Septem- 
ber 1, 1915, in which he says: "The subject matter for a curricu- 
lum should be selected from among those experiences that are re- 
lated to life, and are likely, owing to their intrinsic nature, to ap- 
peal to the pupils directly as worth while — " "The relative im- 
portance of subject-matter, determining its final admission into the 
curriculum and its relative prominence there, must depend mainly 
upon its relative importance in social life, and the pertinence of 
its relations to the purposes of the school." 

Fifth : It is recommended that, in accordance with the aim stated 
and in ord^r to avoid formal textbook procedure in teaching and 
studying geography, the work be arranged as fully as possible 
around real problems. This will insure greater motive and in- 
terest. Problems which are vital in the lives of the pupils should 
be utilized. Otherwise it is doubtful if "problematic" methods of 
treating geographical material will be more effective than the 
"systematic" method now so commonly used. 

Sixth : It is recommended that only the most essential facts of 
geography be fixed by drill. To name all the essential facts would 
be a difficult undertaking. After a careful consideration of all 
the available reports on what should be eliminated and emphasized 
in geography, the committee unanimously agreed to accept, for the 
iriost part, the recommendations made in the report of the Com- 
mittee on Elementary Course of Study of the Minnesota Educa- 
tional Association. The Miiinesota committee, appointed by the 
city superintendents' section of the Minnesota Educational Associa- 
tion, made their report in March, 1914. The committee sent letters 
to the 3,700 members of the Association calling for suggestions 



30 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

along definite lines with reference to elimination of subject mat- 
ter in geography and certain other subjects. Of the replies re- 
ceived, eighty pertained to geography. The suggestions varied con- 
siderably in clearness and definiteness. The conditions in Iowa are 
probably similar to those in Minnesota, and although recommenda- 
tions based upon the opinions of a few teachers are not the most 
desirable means of determining eliminations, their conclusions are 
at least suggestive, 

A. 3Iap ShetcMng. The committee agree that map sketching 
should be emphasized in each grade, and that the items included 
should be about as follows: (1) It should be possible for each child 
by the end of the seventh grade to draw an outline map of each 
of the continents, and to sketch in the boundaries of the countries 
and locate the leading cities. He should know something about 
these cities besides their mere location, and if there is a relation 
of importance between location and the surroundings, this relation 
should be known. In a continent sketch only the main seas, gulfs, 
peninsulas and islands should be named. (2) Every child should 
be able to sketch a map of the local community-, local county, state 
of Iowa, and the United States. He should be able to locate the 
principal mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, bounding waters, penin- 
sulas, islands, cities, canals and railroads as listed below. No 
political divisions should be required beyond the larger ones of 
North America (Alaska, Canada, United States, Mexico, Central 
America). No political divisions on the map of the United States 
should be required except the location of Iowa ; none on the map of 
Iowa except the local county, and the five or six largest cities and 
institutional centers ; none on the county except the location of 
local town and the principal cities and villages. 

B. Mountain Ranges, location and comparative elevation : 

1. North America: Eocky, Sierra Nevada, Cascade, Appala- 
chian. 

2. South America: Andes. 

3. Eurasia: Alps, Ural, Pyrennes, Caucasus, Himalaya. 

4. Africa: Atlas. 

C. Mountain Peaks and Volcanoes, location and comparative 
elevation : 

1. North America: McKinley, Rainier, Shasta, Hood, Wash- 
ington, Pike's Peak. 

2. South America: Cotopaxi. 

3. Eurasia: Blanc, Vesuvius, Everett. 



REPORT OF COJIMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 31 

4. Africa: None required. 

D. Plateaus and Plains, location and comparative elevation : 

1. North America: Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, Laurentian 
Plateau, Great Plains. 

2. South America: Brazilian Plateau, Llanos, Pampas, Selvas. 

3. Eurasia : Desert of Gobi, Plateau of Tibet, Plateau of Iran. 

4. Africa: Desert of Sahara. 

E. Peninsulas, location. (The elimination is not extensive for 
the reason that it seems best to emphasize in this way the outlines 
of the continents) : 

1. North America: Labrador, Nova Scotia, Florida, Yucatan, 
Lower California. Alaska. 

2. South America : None. 

3. Eurasia : Kamchatka, Korea, Malay, Indo-China, India, 
Arabia, Balkan, Italy, Spanish, Danish, Scandinavian, 

4. Africa: None required. 

P. Rivers, location and commercial importance : 

1. North America : St. Lawrence, Hudson. Potomacj Mississippi, 
Missouri, Ohio, Arkansas, Rio Grande, Colorado, Columbia, Yukon, 
Mackenzie, Nelson-Saskatchewan, principal rivers of state and 
county. 

2. South America : Orinoco, Amazon, Plata-Parana. 

3. Eurasia: Hoang, Yangtze, Ganges, Indus, Euphrates, Volga, 
Danube, Rhone, Seine, Thames, Rhine, Elb. 

4. Africa: Nile, Niger, Zambesi, Kongo. 

G. Lalx-es, location and commercial importance : 

1. North America: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario, 
Great Salt Lake, Winnipeg. 

2. South America : Titicaca. 

3. Eurasia: Caspian (Sea). 

4. Africa : Victoria Nyanza. 

H. Islands, location and commercial importance : 

Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, West Indies (Cuba, Haiti, 
Porto Rico, Jamaica), Vancouver, Pribilof, British Isles (Great 
Britain, Ireland), Sardinia, Sicily, Ceylon, East Indies (Borneo, 
Sumatra, Java), Japanese, Philippine, Guam, Hawaiian, Samoan, 
Madagascar, New Zealand. 

I, Gulfs, Bays, Seas, Straits, location: 

1. North America: Hudson Bay, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Chesa- 
peake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, Carribbean Sea, Gulf of California, 
Puget Sound, Bering Sea. 



32 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 



2. South America: Strait of Magellan. 

3. Eurasia: Japan Sea, China Sea, Bay of Bengal, Arabian 
Sea, Black Sea, Bosphorus Strait, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, 
Strait of Gibraltar, Bay of Biscay, English Channel, Strait or 
Dover, North Sea, Baltic Sea. 

4. Africa: Gulf of Guinea, 
J. Capes : 

1. North America: Cape Cod, Hatteras, Henry. 

2. South America: Cape Horn. 

3. Eurasia: North Cape, Land's End, 

4. Africa: Cape of Good Hope, Cape Verde. 

K. Cities, location and for what noted. Capitals of states and 
foreign countries are eliminated except as they appear in the list 
of commercial centers : 



NORTH AMERICA. 

Indianapolis, Ind. 
Jacksonville, Fla. 
Juneau, Alaska 
Kansas City, Mo. 
La Crosse, Wis. 
Los Angeles, Cal. 
Louisville, Ky. 
Memphis, Tenn. 
Milwaukee, Wis. 
Minneapolis, Minn. 
Mobile, Ala. 
Nashville, Tenn. 
Newark, N. J. 
New Haven, Conn. 
New Orleans, La. 
New York City, N. Y. 
Omaha, Neb. 
Panama, Canal Zone 
Paterson, N. J. 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
Pittsburg, Pa. 



United States : 
Atlanta, Ga. 
Baltimore, Md. 
Birmingham, Ala. 
Boston, Mass. 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
Butte, Mont. 
Charleston, S. C. 
Chicago, 111. 
Cincinnati, Ohio 
Cleveland, Ohio 
Columbus, Ohio 
Dayton, Ohio 
Denver, Colo. 
Des Moines, Iowa 
Detroit, Mich. 
Duluth, Minn. 
Fall River, Mass. 
Fargo, N. D. 
Galveston, Texas 
Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Hartford, Conn. 

Canada: Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Ottawa, Que- 
bec, Halifax. 

Mexico: Mexico City, Vera Cruz. 
Central America: Guatemala. 
West Indies : Havana. 



Portland, Ore. 
Portland, Me. 
Providence, R. I. 
Richmond, Va. 
Rochester, N. Y. 
San Antonio, Texas 
St. Louis, Mo. 
St. Paul, Minn. 
Salt Lake City, Utah 
San Francisco, Cal. 
Savannah, Ga. 
Scranton, Pa. 
Seattle, Wash. 
Sioux City, Iowa 
Sioux Falls, S. D. 
Spokane, Wash. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
Toledo, Ohio 
Washington, D. C. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 33 

SOUTH AMERICA. 

Arsrentina : Buenos Aires. Brazil : Rio de Janeiro. Bahia. 
Chile: Santiago, Valparaiso. Colombia: Bogota. Ecuador: Quito. 
Peru : Lima. Uruguay : Montevideo. Venezuela : Caracas. 

EUROPE. 

Austria -Hungary : Vienna, Budapest. Belgium: Brussels, Ant- 
wei^p. Denmark: Copenhagen. England: London, Liverpool, 
Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds. France: Paris, Mar- 
seilles, Lyon, Havre. Germany: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Leip- 
zig. Greece: Athens. Italy: Naples, Milan, Rome, Florence, Ven- 
ice. Ireland: Belfast, Dublin. Netherlands: Amsterdam, The 
Hague. Norway: Christiania. Portugal: Lisbon. Russia: Petro- 
grad, Moscow, Odessa. Scotland: Glasgow, Edinburgh. Spain: 
Madrid. Sweden: Stockholm. Switzerland: Zurich. Turkey: 
Constantinople. 

ASIA. 

Arabia: Mecca. Asiatic Turkey: Smyrna, Damascus, Jerusalem. 
China: Canton, Shanghai, Victoria (Hong Kong), Peking. India: 
Bombay, Calcutta. Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama. Persia: 
Teheran. Siberia: Vladivostok. Straits Settlements: Singapore, 
Transcaucasia, Baku. 

AFRICA. 

Cairo, Alexandria, Tunis, Johannesburg, Algiers, Cape Town, 
Kimberly. 

AUSTRALIA AND ISLANDS OF PACIFIC OCEAN. 

Sydney, Melbourne, Manila, Honolulu. 

L. Canals, location and importance: 

Welland, Erie, Panama, Suez, Kaiser Wilhelm (Kiel). 

M. Railroad 8y sterns, location of main lines and terminals : 

Great Western, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul (and Puget 
Sound) ; Chicago & Northwestern: Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific; 
New York Central ; Illinois Central ; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, 
and railroads of local county. 

N. Industries and Occupations : 

No elimination seems desirable. 

0. Approximate Latitude and Longitude: 

Des IMoines, New York City, New Orleans, San Francisco, 
Manila, London, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Panama, Constanti- 
nople. 



34 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

P. Bases of Comparison: 

(a) In area: Local county, Iowa, United States, or North 
i\meri«a. 

(b) In population: Local city, Des Moines, New York City, 
Iowa or the United States. 

(c) In distances: From local community to Des Moines, from 
Des Moines to Chicago, or from New York City to Liverpool. 

Q. Governmental Terms, explained, with one example of each : 
Monarchy, republic, colony, territory, congress^ parliament, legis- 
lature, county commissioners, city council, town board, president, 
king, emperor, czar, sultan, governor, mayor. 

R. Buildings, Monuments, Historical Places, Natural Wonders, 
location and description: 

Statue of Liberty. . Niagara Falls, 

Bunker Hill Monument. Yellowstone National Park. 

Pyramids of Egypt, Grand Canyon of the Colorado. 

The Vatican. Great Trees of California. 

Westminster Abbey. Mammoth cave. 

White House. Mount Vernon. 

Federal Capitol. Gettysburg Cemetery, 

State Capitol. West Point. 

The Louvre, Paris. . Annapolis. 

S. Comparative Statistics, limited to: (Not to be memorized) 

1. Five leading exports of the United States. 

2. Five leading imports of the United States. 

3. Relation of exports and imports of United States in value. 

4. Three greatest cotton producing states. 

5. Two greatest cotton producing countries of the world. 

6. Three greatest wheat producing states. 

7. Three greatest wheat producing countries of the world. 

8. Three greatest com producing states. 

9. Three greatest sugar producing countries of the world. 

10. Three greatest tobacco producing countries of the world. 

11. Three greatest tea producing countries of the world. 

12. Three greatest coffee producing countries of the world. 

13. Two greatest fruit producing states. 

14. Two greatest beef producing states. 

15. Two greatest butter producing states, 

16. Two greatest wool producing states. 

17. Four greatest wool producing countries of the world, 

18. Two greatest silk producing countries of the world. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 35 

19. Two greatest coal producing states. 

20. Two greatest coal producing countries of the world. 

21. Two greatest iron producing states. 

22. Two greatest iron producing countries of the world. 

23. Two greatest petroleum producing states. 

24. Two greatest petroleum producing countries of the world. 

25. Two greatest gold producing states. 

26. Two greatest gold producing countries of the world. 

27. Two greatest copper producing states. 

28. Five largest cities of the world. 

29. Five largest cities of the United States. 

30. Three largest states in area. 

31. Two largest states in population. 



DISCUSSION OF FOREGOING RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The first and second recommendations concern the amount of 
time to be spent and the grade-occurrence of geography. Perhaps 
the most thorough-going study of the place of geography in the 
elementary grades is the one made by Superintendent Hilliard of 
Sigoumey, in his Masters' Thesis in the College of Education at 
the State University. Mr. Hilliard made a critical analysis of the 
content of 191 courses of study in geography covering forty of the 
forty-eight states in the Union. 

From his study Mr. Hilliard concludes that geography is at pres- 
ent taught in every grade from the first to the ninth inclusive. How- 
ever, the number of schools offering geography in grades 1, 2, 3 
and 9 are rather infrequent. It appears that the grades in which 
it is most commonly found are 4 to 7 inclusive. The committee, 
therefore, recommends that the formal study of geography be con- 
fined to these grades. 

Mr. Hilliard also studied the amount of time devoted to geog- 
raphy in different grades in 136 cities. He concludes that geog- 
raphy is for the most part taught incidentally in grades 1 and 2, in 
no city is a formal period of time devoted to the subject in those 
grades. The variations in the amount of weekly time devoted to 
geography in grade 3 is from 20 minutes to 200 minutes. In the 
fourth grade the variation is from 20 minutes to 300 minutes. In 
the fifth grade the variation is from 25 minutes to 300 minutes. In 
the sixth grade 25 to 275 ; in the seventh grade 30 to 300 ; and in 
the eighth grade 50 to 300. It appears from this that there is ab- 



36 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION. 

solutely no fixed standard by which to determine the amount of 
time that should be devoted to the study of geography. If we 
should follow the standard of current practice the average amount 
of time devoted to geography during the week in each grade would 
be as this committee has recommended. 

The committee does not feel that the third and fourth recom- 
mendations need any further elaboration. The questions involved 
have been considered so repeatedly in educational discussions that 
leading school men tod'ay accept them as a matter of course. 

The fifth recommend'ation concerning the "problematic" organi- 
i^ation of the materials of geography should be given careful con- 
sideration. The geography taught in a particular grade may be 
organized from several different points of view. Undoubtedly, 
teachers as a rule follow the text. It is also true that the text is 
usually somewhat systematic in its organization. This was espe- 
cially true of the older textbooks. They began with a consideration 
of the "World as a Whole" and proceeded logically to analyze its 
parts. Such books gave little consideration to the fact that the. 
child in his everyday life did not meet with geographical experi- 
ences in their logical order. The old method of teaching the coun- 
ties of the state in alphabetic or tier order, is a good illustration 
of the absurdity of this method. Throughout such books, the struc- 
ture of geography was chiefly emphasized and consciously or un- 
consciously the aim was to teach a body of highly organized facts. 

Problematic methods of teaching geography begin with the 
everyday experiences of the child and teach the facts around the 
solution of his difficulties. By this method facts are taught in 
their functional relationship. The best discussion of this method is 
one by McMurry in the article quoted earlier in this report. 

In making the sixth recommendation, the committee wishes to 
state that topics omitted may be important, and their omission 
should not be construed to mean that no study should be made of 
them. Climatic conditions, for example, should receive careful 
study. The elimination made possible in this way will greatly re- 
duce the mass of facts, figures, places and things which a teacher of 
geography has felt compelled to present to her pupils in order to 
prepare them adequately for state examinations. 

In order to test the Minnesota recommend'ations in a small detail 
at least, a list of capes was submitted to the vote of fifty Iowa 
teachers and superintendents. Their votes on the capes to be 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 37 

eliminated, those to receive less attention, and those which should 
remain, are given herewith as showing substantial agreement with 
the Minnesota recommendations. The eight capes receiving a ma- 
jority to remain are in black faced type. 

Name of Cape 

North America: 

Capes Flattery 

Farewell 

Race 

Mendocino 

Sable 

Conception 

Cod 

San Lucas 

Hatteras 

Blanco 

Lookout 

Fear 

Charles 

May 

San Bias 

Montauk Point 

Monomy Point 

Cape Ann 

Henlopen 

Henry 

Carnaveral 

Catoche 

Gracias de Dios 

Corriel 

San Laz 

Bald 

South America: 

Pt. Sallinas 

S. Roque 

Braco 

Frio 

Cape Horn 

Blanco 

Eurasia: 

North Cape 

Lands End 

Finisterre 

St. Vincent 

Wrath 

Matapan 

Cambodia 

Lopotka 

East Cape 

Chelyaskin 



Eliminate 
18 


Emphasis 
Less 

22 

10 
5 

14 
9 
9 
4 
2 
3 
5 
5 

10 

10 

15 
4 
3 
3 
5 
5 

10 


2 
1 
1 
2 



4 
4 

8 



4 

5 

. 

5 

5 

4 

4 



5 


No change 
10 


28 


12 


34 


11 


34 


2 


30 


11 


34 


7 


4 


43 


.47 


1 


20 


37 


30 


15 


30 


15 


20 


20 


18 


22 


17 


18 


45 


1 


45 


2 


45 


2 


20 


20 


38 


7 


5 


35 


47 


3 


48 


2 


46 


2 


48 


1 


47 


2 


47 


1 


48 


2 


48 


2 


40 


6 


40 


6 


3 


47 


38 


4 


20 


30 


18 


38 


45 





46 


4 


40 


5 


45 





39 


7 


46 





40 


10 


41 


4 



38 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

Name of Cape Eliminate Emphasis No change 

Less 
Africa: 

Guardafin 40 5 5 

Amber 41 4 5 

Ste. Marie 45 5 

Corrientes 41 5 4 

Good Hope 3 47 

Frio 39 7 4 

Palmas 42 5 3 

Verde 10 5 35 

Blanco 30 10 10 

Bojador 41 7 2 

Bon. Lopez 40 5 5 

Agulhas 38 8 4 

Australia: 

York 37 6 7 

Sandy Hook 42 8 

Byron 40 8 2 

Howe 44 6 

Leewin 40 8 2 

Steep Pt 41 5 4 

North West 37 7 6 

Leveque 39 2 9 

New Zealand: 

North Cape 35 5 10 

South Cape 35 5 10 

The committee also wishes to state that it believes the reorgani- 
zation of the materials of geography around problems will necessi- 
tate an entire re-emphasis upon different topics. Just what this 
emphasis mil be we are not able to predict. 



PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE. 

Physiology came into the schools as the child of medicine and 
anatomy, and the first texts were written from that standpoint. We 
now know that few children ever reach a medical college, and we 
are content to leave the introductory course in anatomy to such 
colleges. The physiology work of the grades should be confined to 
home and community sanitation, personal hygiene and health, food 
and exercise, fresh air and sleep, and kindred topics. 

We recommend for omission from school work and from ques- 
tions for eighth grade graduation all such topics as the following: 
The human skeleton, lists of bones, etc., (but not the foods for bone 
building) ; 

Anatomy of the muscular system and lists of muscles (but not 
the necessity of proper work and exercise) ; 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 39 

Ajiatomy of the circulatory system, naming all the paths and 
parts through which a drop of blood travels (but not the necessity 
of plenty of oxygen and good food to make blood) ; 

The scientific names of the parts of the alimentary canal (but 
not the necessity of thorough elimination, dangers of over-eating) ; 

The anatomy of the brain and nervous system (but not the ne- 
cessity of rest, relaxation, absence of worry, as well as the desira- 
bility of periods of vigorous study and thinking) ; 

The anatomy of the eye (but not the rules for proper care of the 
eye, testing for defects, supplying glasses, etc.)- 

The proper attention to hygiene and sanitation is a matter of 
very recent growth, and has followed the important bacteriological 
studies of Pasteur and Koch. The great practical value of this line 
of study is now generally recosnized. Progressive school men 
everywhere are giving attention to the new type of work. A recent 
extended study of courses of study in physiology in city systems 
shows a strong tendency to omit the work on structure and anatomy 
and to stress the work on sanitation and hygiene. While the com- 
mittee has knowledge of this report and its findings, it has not had 
access to the complete report which is one of the very few studies 
made along the line of physiology and hygiene. This change of 
emphasis in physiology which has already taken place in the larg- 
er and more progressive cities, should follow in small towns and 
rural districts. The study of text books made by Superintendent 
Slacks shows that the old type of work is still largely prevalent in 
the rural schools of Iowa. The committee recommends that teach- 
ers should no longer hesitate to omit the old type of work. They 
should replace it by work upon sanitation and hygiene which may 
be expected to function in the life of children and in the com- 
munity. Anatomy and medical terms should be abandoned in the 
grade work. Most school book publishers now have good texts 
meeting the new requirements. A teacher who is unable to change 
texts should not hesitate to omit undesirable material from present 
texts. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1. Any good Encyclopaedia will show the historical develop- 
ment of anatomy and physiology in accordance with the statement 
at the first of this discussion. 

2. Coleman, ''The Peoples' Health." 

3. Ritchie, "The Primer of Sanitation." 

4. Ritchie, ' ' The Primer of Hygiene. ' ' 



40 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION: 

AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Eliminations Recommended. — The committee did not get to the 
consideration of History until its final meeting. It decided not to 
attempt independent recommendations, but to print the recom- 
mendations of the Minnesota committee with the suggestion that 
they be accepted tentatively and seriously considered until such 
time as a fuller and more constructive program may be submitted. 

I. Dates. Exact dates are of secondary importance and events 
should be related in time to one another. For purposes of exami- 
nation only the f ollo-\ving dates should be required : 

1. 1000 (about) Norse discovery of America. 

2. 1492 The discovery of America.' 

3. 1519-21 Magellan sails around the world. 

4. 1607 Settlement of Jamestown. 

5. 1619 Slavery introduced into Virginia. 

6. 1620 The Pilgrims land at Plymouth. 

7. 1643 The confederation of the New England Colonies 
formed. 

8. 1754 Colonial Congress at Albany and Franklin's Plan of 

Union. 

9. 1765 Passage of the Stamp Act and the meeting of the 
Stamp Act Congress. 

10. 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord and of Bunker Hill. 

II. 1776 Declaration of Independence. 

12. 1777 The surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga. 

13. 1781 Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown. 

14. 1789 First Congress assembled in New York; Washington 
inaugurated president. 

15. 1793 Cotton-gin invented by Eli Whitney. 

16. 1803 Louisiana purchased from France. 

17. 1807 First trip of Fulton's steamboat. 

18. 1812 War declared against Englnd. 

19. 1820. Missouri Compromise adopted by Congress. 

20. 1823 Monroe Doctrine announced. 

21. 1826 First railroad built in the United States. 

22. 1844 First telegraph line established. 

23. 1846 Invention of the sewing machine. 

24. 1846 Iowa admitted to the Union. 

25. 1846-48 War with Mexico. 

26. 1850 Clay's Compromise adopted by Congress. 

27. 1861 Secession of the South. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 41 

28. 1863 Emancipation proclamation. 

Battle of Gettysburg. 
Battle of Vicksburg. 

29. 1866 First Atlantic cable completed. 

30. 1876 First Telephone patented. 

31. 1878 Electric Light invented. 

32. 1898 War declared against Spain. 

Battle of Manila. 

33. 1903 First Wireless message sent across the Atlantic. 

First message sent by the Pacific Cable. 

II. Discoveries, Explorations and Settlements. Limit the study 
of the discoveries, explorations and establishment of settlements to 
the main achievements of the following (or fewer) : 

10. Drake 

11. Raleigh 

12. Champlain 

13. Hudson 

14. Marquette 

15. Nicollet 

16. Joliet 

17. La Salle 

18. Hennepin 

III. Early Colonies. Restrict the detailed study of the early 
colonies to Virginia, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania. 

IV. Wars. Reduce the stud'y of wars to : 

1. Geography of War. 

2. Remote and immediate causes of war. 

3. Resources, plans and campaigns of opposing forces, 

4. Turning point of war. 

5. Remote and immediate results. 

Note. — Omit study of the Colonial wars, except the last. 

V. Eliminate the study of all battles except: 

1. Battle of Quebec, 1759. 

2. Battles of Lexington and Concord, 1775. 

3. Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775. 

4. Battle of Saratoga, 1777. 

5. Battle of Yorktown, 1781. 

6. Perry's Victory on Lake Erie, 1813. 

7. Battle between Merrimac and Monitor, 1862. 

8. Battle of Gettysburg, 1863. 

9. Capture of Vicksburg, 1863. 
10. Battle of Manila, 1898. 



1. 


Columbus 


2. 


Magellan 


3. 


Balboa 


4. 


Vespucius 


5. 


Cortez 


6. 


De Soto 


7. 


Coronado 


8. 


Cartier 


9. 


Cabot 



42 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

VI. Omit from the study of elementary school history the fol- 
lowing topics: 

1. Distinctive characteristics of various tariff acts, but explain 
the meaning of tariff. 

2. All presidential campaigns, detailed study of political par- 
ties, and party platforms, except : 

a. Campaigns : Jefferson 's, Jackson 's, Lincoln 's. 

b. Political parties : Federalist, Democratic, Whig, Repub- 
lican, Prohibition, and Socialist. 

c. Party platform of 1860. 

3. Financial panics, except of 1837, of 1873, and of 1893. 

VII. In view of the eliminations proposed, it seems fitting at 
this time to suggest: 

That Iowa's contributions to our national development should be 
emphasized in our schools. This would take into account Iowa's 
part in the Civil and Spanish-American Wars, its industries, its 
leading agricultural products, and its school system. Correlate 
with geography. A study should also be made of the leading fea- 
tures of our government, both state and local. 

VIII. Pupils should be prepared to write three hundred-word 
biographies on any of the following: 



1. 


Columbus 


11. 


Boone 


2. 


Washington 


12. 


Morse 


3. 


Franklin 


13. 


Lincoln 


4. 


Jefferson 


14. 


Grant 


5. 


Morris 


15. 


Longfellow 


6. 


Fulton 


16. 


Whittier 


7. 


Webster 


17. 


Lowell 


8. 


Clay 


18. 


Harriet Beecher-Stowe 


9. 


Calhoun 


19. 


Horace Mann 


10. 


Marshall 


20. 


Emma Willard 



and the most prominent persons of today, as, Thomas Alvah Edi- 
son, Jane Addams, Theodore Roosevelt, Alexis Carrel, George W. 
Goethals, Luther Burbank, and Woodrow Wilson. 

That the international importance of the following topics be 
emphasized : 

1. Washington's Neutrality Proclamation. 

2. The Monroe Doctrine. 

3. The Impressment of American Seamen, 

4. Slavery. 

5. Immigration. 

6. Commerce. 



REPORT OP COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 43 

7. Our Insular Possessions. 

8. Arbitration. 

9. The "Open Door" policy. 

10. The Panama Canal. 

11. Other modem problems with historic setting. 

While the above shortened lists are an improvement over the 
cyclopaedic attempts which are all too common in history, the im- 
portant point to emphasize is that facts must not be considered at 
all as isolated facts. They are important only when useful in 
solving a problem which is worth solving. History was originally 
introduced into the curriculum to improve citizenship and to aid 
the voters of a democracy in reaching intelligent decisions. Teach- 
ers have too often failed to regard the original purpose of history 
and have been content to drill pupils in the parrot-like repetition 
of facts. The above recommendations will be helpful in discourag- 
ing the large accumulation of such isolated facts. 

If history is to serve its original purpose and aid in the under- 
standing and appreciation of the political and social problems of 
the present, its method must be shaped to that end. But the prob- 
lem of method is outside the work assigned to this committee. 

There is no disposition on the part of the committee to recom- 
mend the shortening of the time devoted to history in the schools. 
It does appear that history properly handled appeals to the inter- 
ests of children and' of grown people. According to Dr. Horn,* — 

"One book out of every ten published in 1913 was history. In 
1913, one book in every seven consulted in the reference depart- 
ment of New York City Library was a history, — more than were 
consulted in geography and travel, science and technology com- 
bined." Eight per cent of the books drawn for home use were 
classed as history, as compared with three per cent in the case of 
technology, three per cent in the case of science, and three per cent 
in the case of geography and travel. It must also be kept in mind 
that a large part of the books classified under other headings con- 
tain historical material. The percentage of books in history drawn 
by children is still larger as compared with those drawn by them in 
science, useful arts, geography, and travel. No data have been 
found to indicate that the publishers' market, and the public li- 
brary demand, especially in the case of adults, do not reasonably 
approximate the actual social demand for history. The large 

♦Teachers' College Record, September, 1915, p. 34. 



44 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

amount, relatively, of books consulted in tlie reference division of 
the public library, seems particularly significant. 

The article, above quoted, gives a careful summary of the more 
important motives which influence people to read history. The 
principal motives are: 

1. The dramatic human interest involved. 

2. To understand historical references met with in newspapers, 
magazines, books and public discussions. 

3. To understand and appreciate the chief problems, conditions, 
and activities of present d^ay life. 

4. To give moral backing by stimulating ideal attitudes and 
reactions to certain permanent moral situations. Among these 
ideals patriotism is very important. 

5. To prevent provincialism and dogmatism by providing a 
"shock which stimulates the reopening of problems concerning 
present social usages." 

The committee heartily endorses these statements. It feels that 
the work in history should be reorganized with these aims in mind, 
and with the problem method more strongly in evidence. The 
study of American history in the elementary grades resolves itself 
into a question of the child's ability to interpret and explain the 
social and moral problems of the day. In view of this fact, the 
committee feels that the problem in the reorganization of historical 
materials is one of elimination, through selection and emphasis. 
That is, what problems are the most important, and what materials 
from a history should be selected for the explanation and interpre- 
tation of these problems. The selection of such matter as would 
fall within this category is exceedingly difficult. Owing to the 
wealth of material, it is rightfully regarded as important, and is 
recommended for the further consideration of the Association. 



SPELLING. 



This section of the committee's report is organized under the 
headings — Introductory Statement, Recommendations, Brief In- 
terpretation of the Eeeommendations, and Bibliography. 

Introductory Statement. 

On the basis of the main function which they perform, school 
subjects may be classified as either content or form subjects. This 
report is written from the standtpoint that Spelling is preeminently 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 



45 



a form study, and that its funetian is to provide the forms of words 
needed in written communication. If pupils need to use a word 
they ought to have it, and if they are to use it in writing they 
ought to know how to place the right letters in the right order. 
Written-language-need is, then, the criterion for spelling teaching. 
It follows from this point of view that the criterion for determin- 
ing whether the spelling of a word or set of words ought to be 
eliminated is use in written language. 

Becommendations. 

No attempt is made in this section of the report to include a full 
justification of the committee's recommendations. A more com- 
plete basis for these justifications will be found in the following sec- 
tion and in the research studies of the subject as listed in the 
bibliography. Those who wish to pursue the question farther will 
find help in these references and studies. 

The following is a summary of the recommendations regarding 
spelling : 

1st. That such words as are not needed in the written language 
of pupils he eliminated from their spelling lessons. The acceptance 
of this recommendation will do much to avoid the undesirable con- 
ditions such as portrayed below. 
Attempting to learn these: — While misspelling these: — 



•^nectado 

halo 

legacy 

gossamer 

sluice 

lurid 

buoyant 

linear 

aggrieve 

superlative 

romantic 

obstinate 




(After Studebaker— Des Moines Annual Keport, 1915.) 

2nd. That spelling he omitted from the first grade except as 
it is taken tip in the form of phonograms as part of reading. Since 
written language as such has little or no place in the first grade, 
this second recommendation follows as corollary to the first. 



46 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

3rd. That the simplest authorized spellings he taught. There 
is no good reason for teaching the more difficult of two authorized 
forms of spelling. 

4th. That steps he taken to secure authentic minimum spelling 
lists for schools in typical localities. It seems certain that chil- 
dren with differing surroundings use different words, hence, the 
need of differing minimum lists. 

5th. That the emphasis in the teaching of ivords he determined 
by the relative diffictdty of the ivords. Certain commonly used 
words have been proven to be so difficult that they are known as 
"spelling demons." This shows that special emphasis is needed 
in the teaching of such words. 

6th. That special care he taken to develop the spelling con- 
science. Pupils should be trained not to allow themselves to leave 
a piece of written work until they know the spelling is correct. 

Brief Interpretations of the Recommendations. 

These interpretations are not meant to be exhaustive, but merely 
suggestive, indicating something of the justifications for the rec- 
ommendations. 

1st. That such words as are not needed in the written language 
of pupils he eliminated from their spelling lessons. It has been 
abundantly shown that pupils do not retain the spelling forms of 
words which they learn indiscriminately without reference to use. 
It has also been abundantly shown that pupils do not learn the 
spelling of the words needed in their written language when their 
spelling lessons are made up indiscriminately without reference 
to use; e. g. See the spelling section of the Des Moines Annual 
School jReport for 1915. Then, too, the day of exploiting oral spell- 
ing ability is happily passed. Hence, it would seem that at least the 
first work of the spelling lessons should be to equip the learners to 
spell the words in their MTitten language. The degree to which 
it is possible and practicable to compile spelling lists that are fully 
in harmony with this recommendation, is not yet determined ; sev- 
eral notable attempts, however, have been made. Chief among 
these is that of Dr. Jones whose results are embodied in a pamph- 
let, "A Concrete Investigation of the Material of English Spell- 
ing." This pamphlet may be had by addressing the Secretary of 
the Faculty, State University, Vermillion, S. D., and enclosing ten 
cents. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 47 

Dr. Jones listed the words used by one thousand fifty (1,050) 
grade pupils, approximately one hundred fifty (150) pupils per 
grade above the first, in their written language work ; and he con- 
tinued to list them until their written "word wells were drained 
dry." His is doubtless not the final list and plans are now under 
way for testing the validity of his findings. (See recommenda- 
tion four.) However, this list is so notably better for the grades 
than any other that has come to the knowledge of the committee 
that it seems advisable to indicate the eliminations that its accep- 
tance might mean. One indication of the extent of these elimina- 
tions is found in the fact that Dr. Jones' list includes only four 
thousand five hundred (4,500) words, while some of the texts that 
are commonly used in Iowa Schools contain ten thousand (10,000) 
to fifteen thousand (15,000) words, i. e., on the basis of the Jones 
lists approximately two-thirds (2-3) of the words now taught 
should be eliminated. An even greater elimination is suggested 
by the findings of Dr. Ayres. His investigation of the written vo- 
cabularies of adults showed that 542 words constitute seven-eighths 
of twenty-three thousand six hundred fifty-two (23,652) words 
used in personal and business letters. Dr. Ayres also discovered 
that the 1000 commonest words cover more than nine-tenths (9-10) 
of all the words we write. Another indication as to the elimina- 
tions that the adoption of the Jones list would cause, is seen by 
comparing random selected lessons of the leading books of the 
state with the words as Dr. Jones found children of the various 
grades using them; for example, checking the words as listed for 
the first thirty lessons of one of the books most commonly reported 
as being used in Iowa schools, with the Jones lists, it was shown 
that of the 492 words in these first thirty lessons only 57.5% were 
found by Dr. Jones in the written language of second grade pupils ; 
7^% were among the new Avords needed by pupils of the third 
grade ; a few others were needed in each of the higher grades and 
22.2% were not needed hy pupils of any grade. Checking the next 
to the last (the eleventh), 30 lessons of this book showed that of 
the 696 words listed, — 

5 words or 1.0% are in Jones 2nd grade list. 

6 words or 1.2% are among the Jones additional words for 3rd 
grade. 

7 words or 1.4% are among the Jones additional words for 4th 
grade. 



48 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

5 words or 1.0% are among the Jones additional words for 5th 
grade. 

2 words or 0.4% are among the Jones additional words for 6th 
grade. 

11 words or 2.2% are among the Jones additional words for 7th 
grade. 

11 words or 2.2% are among the Jones additional words for 8th 
grade. 

447 words or 90.5% are not in any grades of the Jones list. 

The records of these tests were so noteworthy that it seemed 
worth while to compare the Jones lists with other leading spellers 
in use in the state. 

The data for determining the leading speller in use in Iowa 
came from two distinct sources. One is the reports of texts as sent 
to the state superintendent's office and the other is the question- 
naire study of texts conducted by Superintendent Slacks. In both 
of these lists, two spellers were each reported by approximately 
25% of those responding. For professional reasons the names of 
these books are not used in this report. They and the other books 
referred to will be designated by letters. The key has been care- 
fully preserved by the writer of this report and professional in- 
quiries concerning these books will be cordially answered by him. 

A comprehensive study of Speller A. shows wide deviations in 
the selection and arrangment of words from the Jones' findings. 
The words of every other thirty lessons of the first half of the 
book and the middle and next to the last 30 of the last half were 
checked against the Jones ' lists. The results are given below : 

Of the first 30 lessons — 492 words : 
283 or 57.5% are in Jones' 2nd grade list. 
37 or 7.52% are in Jones' 3rd grade additional list. 
20 or 4.06% are in Jones' 4th grade additional list. 
13 or 2.63% are in Jones' 5th grade additional list. 
17 or 3.45% are in Jones' 6th grade additional list. 

7 or 1.42% are in Jones' 7th grade additional list. 

4 or 0.81% are in Jones' 8th grade additional list. 
Ill or 22.2% are not in any grade of the Jones' lists. 

The results of .checking the eleventh were presented on page 47. 
The seventh is as follows: Of the 503 words 
27 or 5.3% are in Jones' 2nd grade list. 
13 or 2.5% are in Jones' 3rd grade additional list. 

6 or 1.1% are in Jones' 4th grade additional list. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 49 

9 or 1.8% are in Jones' 5th grade additional list. 
6 or 1.1% are in Jones' 6th grade additional list. 

11 or 2.1% are in Jones' 7tb grade additional list. 

10 or 1.9% are in Jones' 8th grade additional list. 
421 or 83.7% are not in any grade of Jones' lists. 

Of the 794 words examined in the third grade division of this 
book only 48.6% are found in the Jones second and third grade 
lists. Of the 532 words examined in the fourth grade only 28.1% 
are found in the Jones second, third and fourth grade lists and of 
the 1,124 words examined in fifth grade only 23.6% are found in 
the Jones second to fifth grade lists. 

Another text that is regarded highly by some that have given 
this subject careful study is here designated as book E. To test 
something of how far the words as selected and arranged in this 
book correspond with children's needs as found by Jones, the first 
30 of the 4th grade lessons were checked Math the result that of 
the 647 words, in these 30 lessons, — 
168 or 25.9% are in the Jones' second grade list. 

36 or 5.5% are among the Jones' additional words for 3rd grade. 

44 or 6.7% are among the Jones' additional words for 4th grade. 
399 or 61% are not in Jones' 2-4 grade lists. 



TEACHING WORDS IN WRONG GRADES. 

In addition to the waste of overloading, there is that of mis- 
placement. Judged by the words which Jones found children us- 
ing in the various grades, current spellers cause enormous waste 
by having words taught at wrong times. A random sampling of 
one of the newest, and, according to a priori judgment, one of the 
best texts shows the following as to placing in grades as compared 
with Jones' findings. 

From Spelling Book C. 

First 30 lessons of 4th grade (180 words). 
82 or 45.5% in Jones' 2nd grade list. 
20 or 11.1% among Jones' 3rd grade additional words. 
16 or 8.8% among Jones' 4th grade additional words. 
62 or 34.4% not in Jones' 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. 
First 70 lessons of 5th grade, (573 words), 
87 or 15.1% in Jones' 2nd grade list. 
30 or 5.2% among Jones' 3rd grade additional words. 



50 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

49 or 8.5% among Jones' 4th grade additional words. 
34 or 5.9% among Jones' 5th grade additional words. 
38 or 6.6% among Jones' 6tli grade additional words. 
21 or 3.6% among Jones' 7th grade additional words. 

15 or 2.6% among Jones' 8th grade additional words. 
299 or 52.1% not in any grade of Jones' ivords. 

First 44 lessons of 7th grade list, (384 words), 
33 or 8.6% in Jones' 2nd grade list. 
13 or 3.3% among Jones' 3rd grade additions. 

16 or 4.1% among Jones' 4th grade additions. 

28 or 7.3% among Jones' 5th grade additions. 

29 or 7.5% among Jones' 6th grade additions. 
21 or 5.4% among Jones' 7th grade additions. 
21 or 5.4% among Jones' 8th grade additions. 

223 or 58.07% not in any grade of Jones. 

The cheeking of book A. shows that approximately 94% of the 
words are not placed according to the findings of Jones. 

It may be argued that no spelling book should be the exclusive 
or even the main source of words to be taught. The committee 
regards this point as well taken; and yet how much of spelling 
work comesi from any source other than the adopted text? The 
committee believes comparatively little. And even were the ideal 
use of the book the common practice, how could teachers be ex- 
pected to know what words to select ? If authors of texts who pre- 
sumably have time to try to select and grade words properly, miss 
it by from 120% to 230%, as to the number of words children need 
in the elementary grades, and from 90% to 98% in placing words 
as to grade in which they are to be taught, busy and comparatively 
inexperienced teachers can not be expected to choose successfully. 
(For further evidence on this point see report on the "One Hun- 
dred Demons" by 45 second grade teachers. Des Moines Annual 
Report, 1915 — section on Spelling.) 

It is these conclusions that have justified the remarkable ex- 
penditure of time and energy required for compiling such lists 
as those of Ayres and the making of such books as the California 
State Speller, and other similar books; and it is these conclusions 
that justify your committee in recommending that minimum lists 
ought to be made for the various typical communities of Iowa, 
(See recommendation four) and that words not in the list as found 
for each community be eliminated from the class teaching of spell- 
ing in that community. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 51 

The need of supplementing general lists by individual lists. 
Owing to differences among children in the ideas they wish to 
express, no general list can be adequate for spelling needs of all 
pupils even of the same 'surroundings. The .committee therefore 
recommend that whatever list is taught as the minimum for all 
pupils, part of the spelling work of each individual pupil should 
be the making and learning of the list of such additional words 
as he needs. A convincing example of the importance of personal 
lists is given in the Des Moines Annual Keport, 1915, section on 
Spelling. 

2nd. That spelling he omitted from the first grade except as 
it is taken up in the form of phonograms as part of reading. 

Few if any of the better spelling books contain the words for 
first grade ; but the custom of having first grade pupils spell words 
drawn indiscriminately from the reading is quite common. Ob- 
viously if the function of spelling is to furnish the word forms for 
written-language-communication, there is no place for it except 
in connection with written composition ; and by practically unan- 
imous consent first grade pupils ought not to be taught written 
language, as such. This means the elimination of all spelling as 
such for the first grade, and it also means a marked reduction of 
spelling in the second grade. 

3rd. That the simplest authorized spellings he taught. Your 
committee does not recommend radical changes towards simplified 
forms of spelling, but it does believe that the time has come when 
obvious difficulties in spelling ought to be eliminated, and their 
recommendation is, that the simplest forms that are recognized by 
authoritative dictionaries be accepted and taught. For example, 
the first list of simplified forms as adopted by the National Educa- 
tional Association is now fully accepted and should be used in the 
school room. 

But this recommendation should not be interpreted as meaning 
that only the simpler forms are to be accepted as correct. If pupils 
have been taught the traditional spellings or if they pick them up 
these should be accepted as correct. 

4th. That steps he taken to secure authentic minimum spelling 
lists for schools of typical localities. This recommendation as- 
sumes that the language of children is partially determined by 
their surroundings; and that excellent as are the Jones, Ayres, 
and other lists, and much improvement as they promise, they are 
obviously not perfect ; and your committee believes that further in- 



52 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

vestigation of the spelling needs of Iowa children is an important 
next step in educational progress. Plans are now under way 
whereby the word lists of country children are to be determined. 
The contemplated method is that of Dr. Jones; and he has agreed 
to co-operate in the research. The first step will be that of deter- 
mining the word lists in the written language of 4th grade pupils 
in consolidated country schools. Inspector Woodruff has cordially 
given his support, and the hearty co-operation of all principals of 
these schools is asked. The plan is a very simple one, entailing prac- 
tically no departures from those procedures that would ordinarily 
prevail in good language work. The main requirement is that each 
co-operating teacher preserve the language papers of his pupils 
for the use of the committee and observe certain simple directions. 
These directions will be furnished in order to preserve the uni- 
formity necessary to secure data for valid conclusions. 

5th. That the emphasis in the teaching of words he determined 
hy their relative difficvlty. Recent studies have made it clear that 
words of apparent equality as to difficulty vary greatly in the ac- 
tual difficulty with which children learn to spell them. Until re- 
cently no scientific studies had been made of this problem, but the 
rapid progress along these lines promises much help in the near 
future and the committee heartily recommends that teachers and 
school officers avail themselves of the results of these studies. We 
now have the results of two notable studies; namely, that of Dr. 
Buckingham^ and that of Dr. Lewis^ The far reaching im- 
portance of this recommendation is shown in one of Dr. Bucking- 
ham's main conclusions, viz: 

"If in a list of 50 words the one word that is incontestably 
hardest is by more than one-fourth of a representative group of 
teachers judged to be the easiest, or the easiest but one, that fact 
in itself is a very good reason why the word is so hard. Pupils 
misspell it because their teachers do not realize the need of teach- 
ing it. If text-book makers disagree so widely as to put the same 
words in grades that are three, four, and even five years apart, it 
is proof of the confusion that exists as to how hard words are, and 
when they should be taught. There are various types of words, 
and each type requires different treatment. There is the type that 
does not need to be taught at all. There is the type which appears 

^Spelling Ability, Its Measurement and Distribution, published by Teachers 
College, Columbia University, pp. 111-112. 

^A weighting of the Jones words — as yet unpublished. Those who wish to 
benefit by Dr. Lewis' findings may do so by writing him, care of Iowa State 
University. 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 53 

easy in the lower classes and (grade considered) hard in the up- 
per classes. Such may have been prematurely taught in the lower 
classes. There is the type that appears to possess special difficulty 
for the middle grades. This is due to constant cause — e. g., in the 
case of whose, to the learning of the use of the apostrophe in pos- 
sessives. There are types of errors ; there is the problem of substi- 
tution, of illegibility, and of omission." 

An example of the far reaching help of the study of Dr. Lewis is 
seen in the facts : 

6th. Tliat special care he taken to develop the spelling con- 
science. The indescriminate demand that 'desk-made lists of words 
be mastered, has developed a grave indifference to spelling as it 
should function in written language. The emphasis should be 
sharply shifted from book lists to composition needs and such sen- 
sitive consciences should be developed that pupils instinctively quail 
from wrong spelling in their written work. This should not be inter- 
preted to mean that rough drafts of written work should not be 
made, but it does mean that before a pupil parts with his written 
work he should make certain of the spelling therein. To bring this 
about will require the solution of many pedagogical problems. A 
full consideration of these problems is beyond the limit of this re- 
port. Briefly stated they are: (1) How to handle the early written 
work so as to get the spontaneity needed for good language work 
and at the same time avoid allowing pupils to misspell words. 
Young children employ a surprisingly large number of words in 
their language work; for example, of the 4,500 words in all the 
Jones lists, 1,927 or approximately 45% are in the second grade 
list. It is evident that second grade pupils ought not to be required 
to learn the spelling of this large number of words. Hence the 
only alternative seems to be to have most of the second grade lan- 
guage oral, to limit their written language to a comparatively few 
topics, and to have the teacher give special attention to furnishing 
the correct spellings of the words employed. (2) A second prob- 
lem for solution is that of how many words to attempt to teach 
daily. Experience has proven that it is easy to attempt so many 
that most pupils do not learn them thoroly. According to the 
recent studies of the spelling needs of children and adults, the 
number required can be covered by teaching as few as two to four 
per day. The number should vary and be carefully gauged ac- 
cording to difficulty. (3) A third question to be answeerd is, 
when and how to teach the use of the dictionary. The importance 



54 REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION 

of the dictionary habit in developing a spelling conscience is evi- 
dent, and it is probable that careful attention should be given to 
teaching the use of the dictionary not later than the fourth grade. 
(4) Another important factor is the keeping of personal lists for 
review and drill. No pupil should allow himself to miss or even 
to hesitate on a word without adding it to his personal list. These 
lists should come to be recognized as a helpful means of improve- 
ment and should be studied accordingly. 



A PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1. Ayres, Leonard P. The Spelling Vocabularies of Personal 
and Business Letters. The Russell Sage Foundation, New York. 

2. Ayres, Leonard P. The One Thousand Commonest Words. 
The Russell Sage Foundation, New York. 

3. Bobbitt. Survey of the Schools of San Antonio. 

4. Buckingham. B. R. Spelling Ability. Its Measurement and 
Distribution. Teachers College, New York. 

5. Cook, N. A. and O'Shea, M. V. The Child and His Spelling. 
Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis. 

6. California Speller. Issued by the State Board of Education. 

7. Des Moines Annual Report, 1915. Section Given to Spell- 
ing. 

8. Jones, "W. Franklin. Concrete Examination of the Material 
of English Spelling. University of South Dakota, Vermillion, 
South Dakota. 

9. Jones, W. Franklin. The Child's Oivn Spelling Book. Capi- 
tal Supply Co., Pierre, S. D. 

10. Rice, J. M. The Futility of the Spelling Grind. Forum 
Vol. 32. 

11. The Teaching of Spelling. State Normal School, Farm- 
ville, Va. 

12. Studley, C. K. and Ware, Allison. Common Essentials in 
Spelling. Bulletin No. 7, Chico, California, State Normal School. 

13. Vizetelly, Frank H. A Dictionary of Simplified Spelling. 
Fank and Wagnalls Co. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



019 843 808 A 



